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^^A 


MUNICIPAL    HISTOEY 


TOWN  AND  CITY  OF  BOSTON,    / 


TWO   CENTUEIES. 


SEPTEMBEE  17,  1630,  TO  SEPTEMBER  17,  1830. 


JO  SI  AH    (^UINCY// 


113 

BOSTON: 
CHARLES  C.  LITTLE  AND  JAMES  BROWN. 

1852. 


n 


3-3 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1852,  by  Josiah  Quincy,  in  the  Clerk's 
office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


3860 


CAM  bridge: 

STEREOTYPED     AND     P  R  I  N  T  E.D    BY 
HOUGHTON    AND    HAYWOOD. 


PREFACE 


The  municipal  affairs  of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  were 
conducted  under  the  form  of  town  government,  established 
by  the  early  settlers  of  New  England,  from  1630  to  1822, 
when,  on  their  petition,  they  were  incorporated  into  a  city 
by  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts.  Through  eight  suc- 
ceeding years,  three  successive  administrations  presided 
over  the  new  form  of  government  thus  established.  The 
author  of  this  history  held  the  oilice  of  Mayor  during 
almost  six  of  these  years,  at  a  period  when  the  principles, 
by  which  legislative  and  executive  measures  ought  to  be 
guided,  were  diligently  sought  and  carefully  applied,  ac- 
cording to  the  powers  conferred  by  the  city  charter.  The 
people  of  Boston  had  surrendered,  with  reluctance,  the 
management  of  their  municipal  concerns,  which  they  had 
maintained  in  popular  assemblies  for  nearly  two  centuries ; 
and  the  jealousy  with  which  they  watched  the  measures 
of  -the  new  authorities,  rendered  a  frequent  and  full  deve- 
lopment of  niotives  and  consequences  expedient  and  im- 
portant. 

At  the  close  of  his  administration,  it  therefore  appeared 
to  the  author,  that  a  municipal  history  of  the  town,  and  an 
accurate  account  of  the  transactions  in  the  first  years  of 
the  city  government,  would  be  useful  and  interesting  to 


iv  PREFACE. 

the  public  in  future  times,  and  was  due  to  the   wisdom, 
fidelity,  and  disinterested  services  of  his  associates. 

These  views  were  intimated  in  an  address  to  the  Board 
of  Aldermen,  on  taking  final  leave  of  the  office  of  Mayor, 
on  the  third  of  January,  1829 ;  and  on  the  sixth,  on  his 
petition,  the  succeeding  City  Council  having  granted  liberty 
of  access  to  the  City  Records,  this  History  was  commenced. 
The  completion  of  it  was  unavoidably  postponed  by  the 
acceptance  of  the  Presidency  of  Harvard  University,  an 
appointment  made  and  confirmed  by  the  Corporation  and 
Overseers  of  that  Seminary,  on  the  fifteenth  and  twenty- 
ninth  of  the  same  month,  and  by  the  official  duties  assumed 
and  discharged  until  August,  1845. 

After  the  lapse  of  twenty  years,  at  the  urgency  of  friends 
who  had  a  right  to  influence,  the  work  was  resumed  ;  and, 
being  finished,  is  now,  at  the  close  of  the  author's  eightieth 
year,  offered  to  his  fellow-citizens,  with  his  best  wishes  for 
their  long  enjoyment  of  an  efficient  municipal  government, 
and  for  the  uninterrupted  prosperity  of  the  city  of  Boston. 

JOSIAH   QUINCY. 

Boston,  February  4,  1852. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

TOWN   GOVEENMENT.     1630-1783. 

PAGE 

Constitution  of  Towns  —  Settlement  and  Organization  of  Boston  —  General 
Proceedings  —  Instructions  to  Selectmen  and  the  Watch  —  Establishment 
of  an  Almshouse  —  Of  Schools  —  Erection  of  Faneuil  HaU  —  Manifest- 
ations of  the  Spirit  of  Liberty  by  the  Inhabitants  of  Boston  —  Attempt  to 
change  the  Form  of  Town  Government  —  Population  under  the  Colonial 
Government 1 

CHAPTER    II. 

TOWN  GOVEENMENT.    1783-1821. 

State  of  the  Public  Schools  —  Measures  in  regard  to  them  —  Successive 
Attempts  to  change  the  Government  of  the  Town  —  Plan  of  a  City  Go- 
vernment adopted 20 

CHAPTER   III. 

TOWN   GOVEENMENT.     1821-1822. 

The  Almshouse  removed  from  Beacon  Street  to  Leverett  Street  —  Over- 
seers of  the  Poor  remonstrate  on  its  Condition  —  Proceedings  of  the 
Legislature  of  Massachusetts  on  the  Subject  of  Pauperism  —  Erection  of 
a  House  of  Industry  authorized  by  the  Inhabitants  of  Boston  —  Noble 
Conduct  of  Samuel  Brown  —  His  Character  —  House  of  Lidustry  erect- 
ed— --Act  of  Incorporation  of  the  City  obtained  and  accepted  —  John 
Phillips  chosen  Mayor 34 

CHAPTER    IV. 

CITY   GOVEENMENT.     1822-1823. 

John  Phillips,  Mayor. 

Inauguration  —  Address  of  the  Selectmen,  on  surrendering  the  Government 
and  Muniments  of  the  Town  of  Boston  —  Reply  of  the  Mayor  —  Mea- 
sures adopted  to  carry  into  effect  the  City  Chai-ter  —  Donation  of  Mr. 

A*     - 


V 


vi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Sears  —  Proceedings  relative  to  tlie  House  of  Industry  —  Result  of  the 
First  Year's  Administration  of  the  City  Government  —  Tribute  to  Mr. 
PhiUips 42 

CHAPTER    V. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1823-1824. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

Organization  of  the  City  Government  —  Mayor's  Address  —  Imjiortance  of 
the  Official  Responsibility  of  that  Officer  —  Difficulties  relative  to  the 
Office  of  Surveyors  of  Highways  —  Embarrassments  from  the  Board  of 
Health  —  Duty  of  Cleansing  the  Streets  devolved  on  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen,  and  how  executed  —  Board  of  Health  discontiaued,  and  their 
Duties  transferred  to  other  Officers .\        .     58 

CHAPTER    YI. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1823-1824.     ^- 

JosiAH  QursCY,  Mayor. 

Inconvenient  State  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market  —  Difficulties  attending  its 
Extension  —  Measures  taken  for  surmounting  them  —  Invitation  to  the 
Proprietors  of  the  Land  in  the  Vicinity  to  become  Associates  in  the 
Improvement  —  Not  accepted  by  them  —  The  Project  approved  by  the 
Citizens  in  a  General  Meeting  —  Authority  obtained  from  the  Legis- 
lature —  Purchase  of  the  Estates  commenced 74 

CHAPTER    VII. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1823-1824. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

Proceedings  relative  to  the  House  of  Industry  —  Opposition  of  the  Over- 
seers of  the  Poor  to  the  Removal  of  the  Inmates  of  the  Almshouse  — 
A  House  of  Correction  erected  at  South  Boston  —  Attempts  to  Conciliate 
the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  —  Its  Effects  —  Liberty  to  use  the  Cellars  of  a 
Church  for  Burial  denied  —  Department  of  Police 88 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1823-1824. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

Measures  for  the  Suppression  of  Idleness,  Vice,  and  Crime  —  A  House  of 
Correction  —  Its  Effects  —  Building  provided  for  Juvenile  Ofi'cuders  — 
Its  Results  —  Petition  for  General  Meetings  in  Wards  —  Loans  proposed 
for  City  Lnprovements  —  Theatrical  Licenses  —  Ropewalk  Lands  — 
Islands  in  the  Harbor  —  Common  Sewers 102 


CONTENTS.  vii 

CHAPTER   IX. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.    1824-1825. 
JosiAH  QuiNCT,  Mayor. 

PAGK 

Proceedings  of  the  City  Council  of  the  past  Year  Recapitulated  —  Import- 
ance of  the  Responsibility  of  the  Mayor  —  Estates  purchased  for  the 
Enlargement  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market  —  Plan  of  the  New  Market  — 
North  Block  of  Stores  built  and  sold  —  First  Plan  enlarged  —  Southern 
Block  of  Stores  built  and  sold  —  Corner  Stone  of  Market  House  laid      .  121 

CHAPTER    X. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1824-1825.  \ 

Jo  SI  AH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

Proceedings  relative  to  the  House  of  Industry  —  Opposition  of  the  Over- 
seers of  the  Poor  to  the  Measures  of  the  City  Council  —  Sale  of  the 
Almshouse  in  Leverett  Street  —  The  Paupers  transferred  to  the  House 
of  Industry  —  The  question  of  applying  to  the  Legislature  for  a  Modifica- 
tion of  the  Powers  claimed  by  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  submitted  to  a 
General  Meeting  of  the  Citizens  —  Its  Result  —  Death  of  Aldennan 
Hooper —  Claims  of  Pohtical  Parties  for  the  use  of  Faneuil  HaU  —  Diffi-  ■ 
culties  relative  to  the  Board  of  Health  —  Change  in  that  Department  — 
Visit  and  Reception  of  General  Lafayette 138 

CHAPTER    XI. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1824-25. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

State  of  the  Fire  Department  —  Claims  of  the  Engine  Companies  —  The 
Result  —  They  surrender  theu-  Engines  and  resign  —  Other  Engine 
Companies  formed  —  A  new  Organization  of  the  Fire  Department  recom- 
mended —  Measures  taken  to  carry  it  into  effect  —  Office  of  Auditor  of 
Accounts  established 153 


CHAPTER    XII. 

CITY  GOVERNMENT.     1825. 

JosiAH  QuiNOY,  Mayor. 

The  Citizens  accept  the  Report  of  their  General  Committee  on  the  inex- 
pediency of  modifying  the  powers  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  —  Over- 
seers decline  taking  care  of  the  Poor  at  the  House  of  Industiy  —  Their 


V 


viii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Eights  and  Duties  submitted  to  Legal  Counsel  —  Their  Report,  and 
consequent  Proceedings  of  the  City  Council  —  Measures  to  introduce  a 
Supply  of  Fresh  Water  —  Proceedings  relative  to  Faneuil  HaU  Mar- 
ket —  Census  of  the  City  —  Time  of  Organizing  the  City  Govemment 
changed 167 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

CITY  GOVEENMENT.    1825. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

An  Act  authorizing  a  New  Organization  of  the  Fire  Department  applied 
for  and  obtained  from  the  State  Legislature  —  Sanction  of  the  Act  by  the 
Citizens  —  Measures  pursued  to  carry  it  into  effect  —  Sites  for  Engine 
Houses  selected  —  Reservoirs  constructed  ■ —  Lafayette  revisits  the  City 
—  Measures  adopted  on  the  Occasion  by  the  City  Council       .        •         .181 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1826. 
Jo  SI  AH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 
Prosperity  of  the  City  —  Measures  for  introducing  Water  —  Views  of  the 


fOT  on  the  Subject  —  Proceedings  of  the  City  Council  —  Powers  of 
the  Mayor  in  the  Suppression  of  Riots  —  Petitions  for  a  Genei'al  Contri- 
bution for  ReUef  by  Sufferers  from  Fire  —  The  Result  —  Progress  of 
Faneuil  HaU  Market  —  Final  Settlement  of  the  whole  Improvement  — 
Organization  of  the  new  Fire  Department  —  Celebration  of  the  Fourth 
of  July,  1826  —  Death  of  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson  —  Tribute 
to  their  Memories 197 


CHAPTER    XV. 

CITY  GOVERNMENT.     1827. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

General  Relations  of  the  City  —  Views  concerning  the  City  Debt  —  The 
Location  of  a  City  Hall  —  The  Responsibility  for  the  Correctness  of  the 
Voting  Lists  —  General  State  of  the  Schools  —  Proceedings  of  the  City 
Council  in  relation  to  them  —  School  Committee  object  to  their  Inter- 
ference, and  claim  Independence  —  Opening  of  the  Hancock  School  — 
High  School  for  Girls  estabhshed  as  an  Experiment  —  Its  Result —  The 
School  discontinued,  and  the  Privileges  of  Females  in  the  Common 
Schools  extended  —  The  Relation  of  the  Mayor  to  the  School  Com- 
mittee     . 210 


CONTENTS.  ix 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1828 
JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

PAGE 

General  Relations  of  the  City  in  respect  of  Debt  —  Health  —  Protection 
against  Fire  —  Its  Duty  in  respect  of  Education  —  Effect  on  its  Pros- 
perity by  the  PrinciiDle  of  Ai-bitrary  Valuation  without  Relief —  Prin- 
ciples of  Proceeding  relative  to  the  Voting  Lists  —  Indemnity  of  City 
Officers  for  Acts  of  Official  Duty  —  Sale  of  Spirituous  Liquors  prohi- 
bited on  the  Common  —  Inexpediency  of  Selling  the  Flats  to  the  East- 
ward of  the  New  Market-House,  and  the  Result  of  the  Measures  taken 
on  that  Subject 229 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1828. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

The  Annexation  of  South  Boston  to  the  Ancient  City,  and  the  Difficulties 
attending  it  —  Project  of  Semi- Annual  Sales  of  Domestic  Manufactures 
in  the  City  —  The  Hall  over  the  New  Market  appropriated  for  the 
Object — Question  concerning  the  EligibiHty  of  Members  of  the  City 
Council  to  City  Offices  —  State  and  Progress  of  the  Fire  Department  — 
Resignation  of  the  Chief  Engineer  —  His  gratuitous  Services  —  Vote 
of  Thanks  to  him  by  the  City  Council  —  Prosperous  State  of  City  Af- 
fairs —  The  Mayor  dechnes  being  a  Candidate  for  Reelection  —  Harrison 
Gray  Otis  chosen  Mayor 246 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1828. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

Address  of  the  Mayor  on  taking  final  Leave  of  the  Office  —  His  Acknow- 
ledgments to  the  Members  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  Common  Council, 
and  his  FeUow-Citizens  —  Measures  and  Results  of  the  past  Admlnistra-  ^ 
tion :  for  Protection  of  the  City  against  Fire ;  and  of  the  Islands  against 
Storms ;  for  the  Health  of  the  Inhabitants ;  for  Public  Education ;  in 
Favor  of  Public  Morals ;  for  increasing  the  Financial  Resources  of  the 
City  and  reducing  its  Debt  —  Principles  on  which  his  Conduct  in  Office 
had  been  guided  —  Tribute  to  his  Successor 25& 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.    1829. 

Harrison  Gray  Otis,  Mayor. 

Circumstances  recalling  the  Mayor  from  Private  Life  —  Tribute  to  hisJPre~- 
decessors  —  Views  concerning  the  City  Debt —  On  the  Supply  of  Pure' 


X  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

•yyTatcr  —  The  Importance  of  Railroads  —  Political  Relations  of  the  State 
and  Union  —  Flats  to  the  Eastward  of  the  New  Market  —  Attempts  to 
authorize  Inspectors  to  place  Names  on  the  Voting  Lists  —  Tribute  to 
the  Directors  of  the  House  of  Industry —  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Fire' 
Department  appointed  —  Resignation  of  all  the  Assistant  Engineers  — 
Petitions  to  extend  Wharves  to  the  Channel  —  Relief  to  Sufferers  by 
Fire  in  Georgia  —  Petitions  for  a  General  Meeting  of  Citizens  on  Rail- 
roads, and  for  a  Grant  of  Land  for  their  Accommodation  .         .         .  280 

■  CHAPTER    XX. 

CITY  GOVERNMENT.    1830. 

Harrison  Gray  Otis,  Mayor. 

Prosperous  State  of  the  City  —  Embarrassment  of  the  Manufacturing  In- 
terests, and  its  Causes  —  Completion  of  the  City  ^Vharf —  State  of  the 
City  Debt  —  Sale  of  Public  Lands  —  Condition  of  the  Flats  to  the  "West 
of  the  Neck  —  State  of  the  Court-Houses  —  Protection  of  our  Outer 
Harbor  —  Centennial  Celebration  resolved  upon  —  Granl  of  the  City 
Hall  for  Sales  of  Domestic  Manufactures  rescinded  —  Sale  of  Spirituous 
Liquors  on  the  Common  prohibited  —  Old  State  House  to  be  called 
"  The  City  HaU" —  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Settlement  of  Boston  298 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

CITY  GOVERNMENT.    1830. 

Harrison  Gray  Otis,  Mayor. 

Address  of  the  Mayor  to  the  Members  of  the  City  Council,  on  the  Removal 
of  the  Municipal  Government  to  the  Old  State  House,  on  the  Morning 
of  the  seventeenth  of  September,  1830 309 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1830. 

Harrison  Gray  Otis,  Mayor. 

Address  to  the  Citizens  of  Boston,  on  the  seventeenth  of  September,  1830, 
the  Close  of  the  Second  Century  from  the  first  Settlement  of  the  City. 
By  Josiah  Quincy,  President  of  Harvard  University        .        .        .        .318 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.    1830. 

Harrison  Gray  Otis,  Mayor. 

An  Ode,  pronounced  before  the  Inhabitants  of  Boston,  on  the  seventeenth 
of  September,  1830,  at  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Settlement  of 
the  City.    By  Charles  Sprague 358 


CONTENTS.  xi 

APl^ENDIX. 

PAGK 

Mayor's  Inaugural  Addresses,  1822-1828 373-406 

Message  of  the  Mayor  to  the  City  Council,  recommending  the  Extension  of 
the  Plan  of  the  Imjjrovement  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market  to  Butler's  Row, 
and  explaining  the  Motives  of  the  Committee  for  this  Recommendation  .  412 

Proceedings  on  laying  the  Corner  Stone  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market         .        .  415 

Statements  relative  to  the  irresponsibility  claimed  by  the  Overseers  of  the    ,  1 
Poor  for  public  moneys 418 

An  Address,  delivered  at  the  unanimous  Request  of  both  Branches  of  the 
City  Council  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  1826,  it  being  the  Fiftieth  Anniver- 
sary of  American  Independence,  by  Josiah  Quincy,  Mayor  of  the  City    .  421 

The  Members  of  the  City  Government,  from  1822  to  1830,  inclusive  .  434 


MUNICIPAL    HISTORY. 


CHAPTER   I. 

TOWN  GOVERNMENT.     1630-1783. 

Constitution  of  Towns  —  Settlement  and  Organization  of  Boston  —  General  Pro- 
ceedings —  Instructions  to  Selectmen  and  the  Watch  —  Establishment  of  an 
Almshouse  —  Of  Schools  —  Erection  of  Faneuil  Hall  —  Manifestations  of  the 
Spiiit  of  Liberty  by  the  Inhabitants  of  Boston  —  Attempt  to  change  the  Form 
of  Town  Government  —  Population  under  the  Colonial  Government. 

The  settlements  made  in  1630  around  the  Bay  of  Massachu- 
setts, by  John  Winthrop  and  his  associates,  early  received  the 
name  of  "towns,"  under  the  sanction  of  the  colonial  legislature, 
denominated,  in  conformity  with  the  language  of  the  first  char- 
ter, «  The  General  Court." 

After  declaring  "  that  particular  towns  had  many  things 
which  concerned  only  themselves,  and  the  ordering  their  own 
affairs,  and  disposing  of  business  in  their  own  town,"  the  General 
Court,  in  1630,  ordered  that  "  the  freemen  of  every  town,  or  a 
major  part  of  them,  should  have  power  to  dispose  of  their  own 
lands  and  woods,  to  grant  lots,  and  choose  their  own  particular 
officers,  as  constables,  surveyors  of  highways  and  the  like,  annu- 
ally, or  otherwise,  if  need  required ;  also  to  make  such  laws  and 
constitutions  as  concern  the  welfare  of  their  town.  Provided 
they  are  not  of  a  criminal,  but  of  a  prudential  nature,  and  that 
their  penalties  exceed  not  twenty  shillings  for  one  offence,  and 
that  they  be  not  repugnant  to  the  public  laws  and  orders  of  the 
country."  In  case  of  the  refusal  of  any  inhabitant  to  obey  the 
laws  of  the  town,  the  appointed  penalty  was  authorized  to  be 
levied  by  "  distress."  If  any  person  behaved  offensively  in  toivn 
meeting,  those  present  had  power  to  sentence  him  for  the  offence 
to  pay  any  sum,  not  exceeding  the  above-prescribed  penalty.    To 


2  MUNICIPv^L  HISTORY. 

every  town  was  also  granted  the  power  to  choose  yearly,  or  for 
less  time,  "  a  convenient  number  of  fit  men,  to  order  the  pruden- 
tial affairs  of  the  town,  according  to  instructions  given  them  in 
writing,  they  doing  nothing  contrary  to  the  laws  and  orders  of 
the  country  ;  and  the  number  of  selectmen  to  be  not  above  nine." 
The  local  limits  of  each  town,  within  which  its  jurisdiction  ex- 
tended, were  established,  enlarged,  or  diminished  by  the  General 
Court,  who  subsequently  authorized  new  officers  to  be  chosen 
and  granted  new  powers  to  each  town,  as  new  wants  arose,  or  as 
local  interests  or  state  policy  suggested. 

Such  was  the  first  and  simple  outline  of  that  constitution  of 
towns,  which,  originating  in  the  convenience  and  practical  spirit 
of  those  early  emigrants,  and  being  thus  gradually  modified,  by 
occurring  exigencies  and  policy,  formed  that  assemblage  of  re- 
publics, with  qualified  powers,  which  constitutes  some  of  the 
peculiar  characteristics  of  Massachusetts  and  the  other  New 
England  States,  and  had  an  effective,  indeed,  a  controlling  in- 
fluence upon  their  principles  and  destinies. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  these  settlements  was  established  on  the 
peninsula  formed  at  the  mouth  of  Charles  River,  by  its  waters 
and  those  of  the  Bay  of  Massachusetts.  From  the  Indian  natives 
it  received  the  name  of  "  Shawmut ; "  from  the  inhabitants  of 
Charlestown,  that  of  "  Trimountain ; "  and  from  the  General 
Court,  by  an  order  passed  on  the  seventh  of  September,  (old 
style,)  1630,  that  of  "Boston."  In  1632,  the  same  colonial 
legislature  declared  it  to  be  "  the  fittest  place  for  public  meet- 
ings of  any  place  in  the  Bay,"  and  thenceforth  it  was,  and  ever 
since  has  continued  the  capital  of  Massachusetts. 

The  peninsula  of  Shawmut,  being  only  about  four  miles  in 
circumference,  did  not  offer  sufficient  accommodation  for  pastur- 
age and  cultivation  of  the  land.  The  General  Court,  therefore, 
during  the  four  or  five  first  years  after  the  settlement,  included 
within  the  boundaries  of  Boston  the  islands  in  the  harbor.  Muddy 
River,  (now  Brookline,)  Winnisimet,  (now  Chelsea,)  Mount 
Wollaston,  and  the  land  east  of  Neponset  River,  afterwards 
incorporated  into  a  town  by  the  name  of  Braintree,  and  now 
constituting  the  towns  of  Braintree,  Randolph,  and  Quincy. 
The  assignment  of  house  lots  within  the  peninsula,  and  the 
allotting  farms  to  succeeding  emigrants,  formed  the  chief  busi- 
ness of  the  town  authorities  for  nearly  half  a  century. 


TOWN  GOVEEmiENT.  3 

Boston  being  the  place  of  the  residence  of  John  Winthrop,  the 
first  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  of  some  of  the  principal 
assistants,  they  took  the  lead  in  the  early  conduct  of  its  affairs. 
The  first  order  on  the  town  records  is  dated  1634,  March  7th  day, 
1st  month,  and  purports  to  be  passed  by  John  Winthrop  and 
nine  others,  but  they  take  not  the  name  of  "  selectmen,"  or  any 
other  indicative  of  authority.  The  order  related  only  to  laying 
stones  and  logs  near  landing  places,  so  as  not  to  be  seen  at  high 
water,  without  some  beacon  to  give  notice  thereof,  "  under  pain 
of  paying  recompense,  by  way  of  damage,  for  any  vessel  injured 
thereby."  The  persons  passing  this  order,  however,  seem  to  have 
been  under  some  apprehension  lest  their  authority  might  be 
questioned,  for  the  order  adds,  "  it  being  only  a  declaration  of  the 
common  law  herein." 

The  name  of  "  selectmen"  does  not  appear  on  the  records  of 
the  town  until  November,  1643,  and  then  only  incidentally. 
The  persons  chosen  to  do  the  business  of  the  town  are  often^ 
without  any  designation  of  their  office.  Sometimes  they,,  are 
called  "the  overseers  of  the  town  concerns;"  at  others,  are  desig- 
nated as  persons  "  chosen  for  the  occasions  of  the  town,"  and  for 
the  first  time  on  the  town  records,  on  the  29th  of  November,  1645, 
John  Winthrop  and  nine  others  are  formally  stated  to  be  chosen 
"  selectmen."  The  duties  of  the  persons  thus  chosen,  as  ex- 
pressed in  one  of  the  votes  of  the  inhabitants,  were  "  to  oversee 
and  take  order  for  all  the  allotments  within  us,  and  for  all  comer's 
into  us,  and  also  for  all  other  the  occasions  and  business  of  this 
town." 

The  allotments  of  land  assigned  within  the  peninsula  were 
very  limited  in  extent.  Those  out  of  it,  and  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  town,  were  large,  and  granted  with  great  liberality. 
In  the  9th  of  the  12th  month,  (February,  1635,)  the  rule  esta-. 
blished  by  the  town  for  these  allotments  was,  "  two  acres  to  plant 
on,  and  for  every  able  youth,  one  acre  within  the  Neck  and  Nod- 
dle's Island."  As  to  those  at  Mount  Wollaston  and  Muddy 
River,  the  allotters  were  authorized  to  "  take  a  view  and  bound 
out  what  may  be  sufficient  there"  for  the  particular  farms  of 
the  allottees,  and  four  hundred  acres  were  often  given  to  a  single 
individual.  The  year  1635,  however,  did  not  elapse  before,  in 
conformity  with  the  settled  policy  of  the  emigrants  at  that  period, 
the  town  "  agreed  that  no  further  allotments  should  be  granted 


4  MUNICIPAL  HISTOKY. 

unto  any  new-comer,  but  such  as  may  be  likely  to  be  received 
members  of  the  congregation." 

During  the  political  ascendency  of  Henry  Vane,  the  name  of 
Winthrop  does  not  appear  on  the  town  records.  As  governor 
of  the  colony,  in  1636,  Vane  probably  assumed  the  superintend- 
ence of  the  concerns  of  the  town.  But  in  November,  1639,  the 
name  of  John  Winthrop,  Governor,  appears,  with  the  names  of 
nine  others,  chosen,  as  formerly,  for  the  town's  affairs ;  and  he 
held  this  relation  until  1648,  the  year  before  his  death. 

At  this  early  period,  the  limits  between  the  powers  of  the 
colonial  legislature  and  those  of  the  town  seem  not  to  have  been 
well  defined  or  carefully  observed.  Besides  the  local  authority 
incident  to  municipal  jurisdiction,  such  as  "  taking  care  of  the 
common  fences,"  "  regulating  the  going  at  large  of  cattle,  goats, 
and  swine;"  "the  cutting  wood  upon  the  Neck;"  and  reserv- 
ing that  "  near  Roxbury  for  the  poor,"  —  the  town,  in  1635,  un- 
dertook to  exercise  a  more  extensive  power,  and  one  somewhat 
dubious,  both  in  point  of  principle  and  expediency.  Thus,  it 
then  appointed  a  committee  "  to  set  prices  upon  aU  cattle,  com- 
modities, victuals,  and  laborers'  and  workmen's  wages,  and  that 
no  other  prices  or  rates  be  given  or  taken."  They  also  voted 
that  "  none  of  the  members  of  this  congregation,  or  inhabit- 
ants among  us,  shall  sue  one  another  at  the  law,  before  that 
Mr.  Henry  Vane,  and  the  two  elders,  Mr.  Thomas  Ohver  and 
Thomas  Leverett,  have  had  the  hearing  and  deciding  of  the  cause, 
if  they  can."  In  the  same  year  it  was  voted,  "  that  whosoever, 
at  any  public  meeting,  shall  fall  into  private  conference,  to  the 
hindering  of  public  business,  shall  forfeit  for  every  such  offence 
twelve  pence,  to  be  paid  into  the  constable's  hands  for  public 
use."  In  this  year  the  town  first  assumed  the  care  of  the  schools, 
by  voting  that  "  our  brother  Philemon  Pormont  be  entreated  to 
become  schoolmaster,  for  the  teaching  of  the  children  among 
us." 

The  General  Court  having  rejected  the  persons  they  had 
chosen  as  their  deputies  to  that  body,  the  spirit  of  the  inhabit- 
ants was  manifested  by  the  following  proceedings  :  — 

"  The  9tli  of  ye  3cl  Mo.  1637.  At  a  general  meeting,  upon  pri- 
vate or  particular  warning,  from  house  to  house,  and  by  reason 
of  the  Court's  refusal  of  the  former  choice,  Mr.  Henry  Vane,  Esq., 
Mr.  William  Coddington,  Mr.  Atherton  Hough,  are  noiv  again 


TOWN  GOVERNMENT.  5 

chosen  deputies,  or  committees,  for  the  service  of  the  present 
General  Court,  and  that  upon  warrant  to  us  from  the  Court  for 
a  new  choice."  Notwithstanding  the  obnoxiousness,  at  that 
time,  of  these  deputies  to  the  predominating  party  in  the  Court, 
they  were  in  consequence  admitted  to  then*  seats. 

The  records  of  the  town,  though  voluminous,  contain  little  of 
permanent  importance  or  interest.  A  few  of  them,  indicative  of 
the  opinions  and  views  of  the  inhabitants  in  those  early  times, 
will  be  here  recapitulated :  — 

1638.  Allotments  were  granted  on  condition  of  "inoffensive 
carriage." 

1652.  No  strangers  were  permitted  to  live  in  the  town,  with- 
out giving  bonds  to  save  the  town  harmless  from  all  damage  and 
charge  for  entertaining  them.  -It  was  ordered,  that  persons  whose 
houses  were  pulled  down  by  the  authorities,  in  case  of  fire,  should 
"  not  be  entitled  to  damages  therefor." 

1653.  Leave  was  given  to  a  citizen  "to  sink  a  twelve-feet 
cistern,  at  the  pump  which  stands  in  the  highway,  to  hold  water 
to  be  helpful  against  fire,  he  making  it  safe  from  danger  of 
children."  Ladders  were  placed  at  the  meeting-houses,  with 
penalty  against  their  use,  except  in  case  of  fire.  At  the  same 
place  were  also  hung  strong  crooks  and  chains,  poles  and  ropes, 
for  the  same  purpose.  Every  householder  was  required  to  have 
a  ladder  which  should  reach  to  the  roof  of  his  house. 

1655.  "  For  galloping  through  the  streets,  except  upon  days  qi 
military  exercise,  or  any  extraordinary  case  require,"  a  fine  of 
two  shillings  was  imposed.  Football  was  prohibited  from  being 
played  in  the  streets.  Butchers  were  ordered  to  cast  all  their 
ofFal  into  the  mill  creek,  and  not  elsewhere ;  and  all  rubbish  to 
be  removed  before  every  house. 

1657.  None  but  admitted  inhabitants  could  keep  shop  or  set 
up  a  manufacture  within  the  town,  except  those  who  were 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  had  served  seven  years'  apprentice- 
ship, under  penalty  of  ten  shillings  a  month.  An  inhabitant  was 
allowed  "  to  set  up  a  pump  in  the  streets,  and  might  deny  any 
neighbor  its  use  who  did  not  contribute  to  the  expense." 

Licences  were  required  for  drawing  beer,  wine,  brandy,  strong 
water,  cider ;  for  keeping  a  public  house,  and  for  selling  coffee 
and  chocolate. 

1658.  The  order  passed  in  1652  was  revoked,  and  owners  of 


6  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

houses  pulled  down  by  the  authorities  in  case  of  fire,  were  en- 
titled to  damages.  No  person  was  allowed  to  carry  fire  from  one 
house  to  another,  except  in  some  safe  vessel  secure  from  wind. 
If  a  chimney  took  fire  and  flamed  out,  the  owner  was  fined  ten 
shillings.  Persons  were  appointed  to  inspect  the  chimneys  of 
the  town,  and  cause  defects  in  them  to  be  remedied  so  as  to  be 
safe  against  fire. 

1659.  Inhabitants  were  fined  "  for  entertaining  foreigners,"  and 
ordered  to  discharge  them  from  their  houses.  If  they  received 
"  inmates,  servants,  or  journeymen,  coming  for  help  in  physic  or 
surgery,  without  leave  of  the  selectmen,  and  without  giving 
bonds  to  save  the  town  harmless,  their  fine  was  twenty  shillings 
a  week." 

1662.  Persons  were  appointed  to  prevent  disorders  by  youth 
on  the  Lord's  day ;  particularly  in  the  meeting-house,  in  time  of 
God's  solemn  worship ;  with  authority  to  correct  those  who  were 
disorderly  with  a  small  wand,  and  in  case  of  contempt,  to  take 
their  names  and  bring  them  before  the  magistrates. 

1670.  "  There  having  been  found  a  great  want  of  water  in 
case  of  fire,  every  inhabitant  was  ordered  to  have  a  hogshead 
well  filled  with  water  near  his  door,  with  the  head  open,  under  a 
penalty  of  five  shillings." 

1672.  Under  the  authority  of  colonial  laws,  the  selectmen 
ordered  parents  to  put  their  children  out  to  service,  or  to  indent 
them  out ;  and  if  they  did  not,-  the  authority  had  power  to  take 
them  from  their  parents  for  that  purpose. 

1678.  Every  family  was  ordered  to  be  provided  with  "fire- 
buckets,  swabs,  and  scoops,  according  to  their  state,"  In  the 
same  year  an  engine  was  imported  from  England,  and  persons 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  it  in  case  of  fire. 

1683.  Those  who  had  the  care  of  the  water  engine,  (now  called 
fire  engines,)  were  exempted  from  "  train  bands." 

1702.  Two  water  engines  were  ordered  to  be  imported  from 
England. 

The  inhabitants  in  general  town  meeting  were  accustomed, 
annually  or  semi-annually,  to  vote  instructions  to  their  select- 
men, presenting  the  objects  of  attention,  and  their  duties  con- 
cerning them.  Those  issued  in  1657  were  full,  and  the  follow- 
ing abstract  will  give  an  idea  of  their  general  tenor,  and  throw 
light  on  the  character  of  the  times :  — 


TOWN  GOVERNMENT.  7 

*'  Relying  on  your  wisdom  and  care  in  seeking  the  good  of  the  town,  we 
recommend,  that  you  cause  to  be  executed  all  the  orders  of  the  town  which  you 
have  on  the  records,  according  to  the  power  given  you  by  law,  as  found  in  the 
printed  laws,  under  the  titles  of  Townships,  Ecclesiastics,  Freemen,  Highways, 
Small  Causes,  Indians,  Corn  Fields,  Children,  Masters,  Servants,  Pipe  Staves, 
Stones,  Weights  and  Measures,  and  any  other  orders  in  force ;  and  where  you 
find  any  defect,  to  issue  thereon  good  orders,  to  be  approved  by  the  town  and 
the  General  Court.  Subjects  most  necessary  to  be  understood  are,  1.  About 
entertaining  new  inhabitants.  2.  That  none  transplant  themselves  from  the 
country  to  inhabit  here  without  giving  notice ;  concerning  whom  you  may  in- 
quire their  calling  and  employment,  and  whether  they  are  about  to  live  under 
other  men's  roofs  as  inmates,  and  deal  with  them  accowiing  to  law.  If  they  are 
poor  and  impotent,  deal  with  them  as  directed,  under  the  title  of  Poor.  If  they 
buy  houses  and  land,  have  a  vigilant  eye  that  they  live  not  idly,  but  be  diligently 
employed  in  some  lawful  calling.  If,  by  reason  of  sickness,  they  cannot  subsist 
their  children,  you  are  to  take  their  children  from  them,  and  put  them  to 
apprenticeship.  If  any  be  debauched  and  live  idly,  you  must  provide  a  house 
of  correction  for  them,  at  the  charge  of  the  town  and  the  county.  We  commit 
unto  you  the  disposal  of  the  waste  lands  belonging  to  the  town,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  town,  giving  account  from  time  to  time. 

"  We  require  you  to  make  some  effectual  order  to  prevent  harm  from  swine. 
As  to  the  law  relative  to  particidar  highways,  to  each  man's  lot,  if  the  General 
Court's  order  do  not  reach  it,  you  must  remind  our  deputies  to  procure  some 
addition.  You  are  to  take  constant  precaution  as  to  buildings,  that  they  encroach 
not  on  the  streets  or  town's  lands.  You  are  to  appoint  meet  persons  to  keep  the 
streets  and  flats  near  wharves  and  places  of  land  clear  of  stones  and  other 
encumbrances.  You  must  see  that  some  life  be  put  into  the  laws  about  casks,  and 
that  they  be  of  due  gauge  to  prevent  fraud,  and  that  deceitful  packing  of  beef 
and  pork  be  duly  punished ;  that  sworn  men  be  appointed  for  measuring  grain, 
cording  wood  and  boards.  We  think  it  meet  a  jury  should  be  chosen  on  weights 
and  measures,  to  observe  defects  in  chimneys,  and  in  houses  in  danger  of  falling, 
and  to  present  the  same  to  the  county  courts ;  that  orders  be  passed  against 
regrators  and  forestallers,  and  our  deputies  get  them  confirmed  by  the  General 
Court. 

"  That  a  meeting  be  held  by  you,  at  least  monthly,  seriously  to  consider  these 
things,  for  the  good  of  the  town,  the  glory  of  God,  and  establishing  truth  and 
love  among  us. 

"  That  every  half  year  a  town  meeting  be  called,  the  orders  passed  submitted 
for  its  approbation  ;  the  accounts  may  be  credited,  and  particularly  of  what  has 
been  spent  for  buckets,  hooks  and  ladders,  and  for  powder,  and  whether  ladders 
have  been  provided  for  each  house,  according  to  law ;  also  as  to  what  has  been 
spent  as  to  the  great  guns  and  ammunition  of  the  town,  that  provision  may  be 
made  for  them. 

"  These  orders,  with  occasional  variation,  were  apparently  renewed  every 
year  in  town  meeting,  until  the  year  1694." 

The  orders  to  the  town  watch  also  characterize  the  state  of 
the  times. 


8  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

"  The  toTfii  Tvatcli  to  be  set  at  nine  and  dismissed  at  five.  It  shall  not  be' 
trusted  to  youth,  but  one  half  consist  of  householders ;  none  to  be  employed  of 
notorious  evil  life ;  nor  those  who  would  watch  two  nights  together,  not  having 
sufficient  sleep  between ;  the  number  to  be  eight.  The  following  charge  to  be 
given  unto  the  watch  every  night :  — ■ 

"1.  To  wallc  two  by  two  together;  a  youth  to  be  joined  with  an  older  and 
more  sober  person. 

"  2.  If  after  ten  o'clock  they  see  lights,  to  inquire  if  there  be  warrantable 
cause ;  and  if  they  hear  any  noise  or  disorder,  wisely  to  demand  the  reason ;  if 
they  are  dancing  and  singing  vainly,  to  admonish  them  to  cease ;  if  they  do  not 
discontinue  after  moderate  admonition,  then  the  constable  to  take  their  names 
and  acquaint  the  authorities  therewith. 

"  3.  To  watch  the  water  side  and  about  the  shore,  and  prudently  take  account 
of  such  as  go  out  or  come  in,  not  hindering  lawful  business,  but  preventing 
unlawful  practice  and  disorders. 

"  4.  To  look  at  the  guns  and  fortifications. 

"  5.  If  they  find  young  men  and  maidens,  not  of  known  fidelity,  walking  after 
ten  o'clock,  modestly  to  demand  the  cause ;  and  if  they  appear  iU-minded,  to 
watch  them  narrowly,  command  them  to  go  to  their  lodgings,  and  if  they  refuse, 
then  to  secure  them  till  morning. 

"  6.  That  the  watch  be  exemplary  themselves,  using  no  corrupt  language,  and 
so  conduct  themselves,  that  any  persons  of  quahty  who  are  abroad  late  may 
acknowledge  that  the  watch  does  not  neglect  due  examination  nor  misconduct." 

In  1660,  the  first  steps  towards  erecting  an  almshouse  were 
taken,  by  authorizing  the  selectmen  to  use  a  piece  of  ground  for 
that  purpose.  In  1662,  the  design  was  carried  into  effect,  in 
consequence  of  the  encouragement  given  by  sundry  legacies  and 
subscriptions.  The  building  thus  erected  having  been  burnt 
down,  a  vote  was  passed  by  the  town,  in  1682,  for  rebuilding  it. 
In  this  vote  the  object  of  the  institution  is  specified  to  be  "  for 
the  relief  of  the  poor,  the  aged,  and  those  incapacitated  for  labor ; 
of  many  persons  who  would  work,  but  have  not  wherewithal  to 
-employ  themselves ;  of  many  more  persons  and  families,  who 
spend  their  times  in  jolliness  and  tipling,  and  who  suffer  their 
children  shamefully  to  spend  their  time  in  the  streets,  to  assist, 
employ,  and  correct  whom  the  proposed  institution  was  pro- 
vided." 

It  appears,  however,  by  the  records,  that  the  original  design  of 
the  house,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  respectable  poor,  was 
in  a  great  measure  defeated  from  the  predominating  character 
of  its  inmates ;  and  in  1712,  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  town 
"  to  restore  the  almshouse  to  its  primitive  and  pious  design,  even 
for  the  relief  of  the  necessitous,  that  they  might  lead  a  quiet. 


TOWN  GOVERNMENT.  9 

peaceable,  and  godly  life  there,  where  it  is  now  made  a  bridewell 
and  house  of  correction,  which  obstructs  many  honest  poor  people 
going  there  for  the  designed  relief  and  support."  As  a  remedy, 
the  town  proposed  the  building  a  house  of  correction,  and  a 
committee  was  raised  for  that  purpose.  That  committee  reported 
that "  the  poor  honest  people,  who  were  sent  as  objects  of  charity, 
should  be  kept  separate :  and  that  the  justices  of  the  peace  of 
the  county  should  be  petitioned  to  erect  a  house  of  correction, 
as  the  law  dnects."  Nothing  farther  was  done  upon  the  subject 
until  the  year  1720,  when  a  vote  was  passed  in  town  meeting 
for  the  erection  of  a  workhouse,  independent  of  an  almshouse. 
This  design  was  not,  however,  carried  into  effect  until  1735, 
when  measures  were  adopted  for  the  enlargement  and  erecting 
new  buildings,  in  connection  with  the  preexisting  almshouse,  in 
virtue  of  the  province  law,  passed  in  that  year,  on  the  special 
representation  and  petition  of  the  town  to  that  effect.  The 
land  now  included,  between  Park  and  Beacon  Streets,  and  the 
west  line  of  the  burying  ground  to  the  north  line  of  the  land 
now  occupied  by  Park  Street  Church,  was  at  that  time  the  site 
appropriated  for  this  establishment.  The  expenses  incident  to 
the  erection  of  the  buildings  were  originally  defrayed  from  the 
funds  of  the  town,  aided  by  subscriptions  of  private  individuals. 
It  early  received  the  name  of  the  Boston  Almshouse,  probably 
to  render  a  resort  to  it  less  obnoxious  to  the  more  respectable 
class  of  poor.  But  this  appellation  had  no  sanction  in  the  pro- 
vince law  authorizing  its  erection.  "  Workhouses  for  the  idle 
and  the  indigent,"  "  houses  of  correction  for  rogues  and  vaga- 
bonds," are  the  only  designations  given  by  that  law,  to  institu- 
tions for  either  of  those  objects.  The  defects  and  inconveniences 
of  the  Boston  Almshouse,  which  the  comparative  poverty  of  the 
times,  and  the  embarrassments  consequent  on  the  revolutionary 
war,  prevented  from  being  remedied  until  after  its  close,  will  be 
noticed  hereafter  in  this  work. 

The  obedience  of  the  town  to  the  province  law,  which  required 
that  every  town  having  fifty  householders  should  be  provided 
with  a  schoolmaster  to  teach  children  and  youth  to  read  and 
write,  and  having  one  hundred  families,  with  a  grammar  school, 
with  some  discreet  person  well  instructed  in  the  tongues  to  keep 
such  school,  seems,  from  the  earliest  times,  to  have  been  constant 
and  regular.     Their  proceedings  are  not  very  distinctly  traced  in 


10  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

the  town  records.  In  1662,  the  rent  of  Deer  Island  was  appro- 
priated for  the  use  of  free  schools.  And,  in  1679,  two  free  schools 
were  established  "to  teach  children  to  write  and  to  cipher," 
accompanied  with  a  recommendation  to  "  those  who  sent  their 
children  to  school  and  were  able,  to  pay  something  for  the 
encouragement  of  the  master."  It  was  not  until  1709,  that  the 
town,  on  the  report  of  a  committee,  voted  "  annually  to  appoint 
a  certain  number  of  gentlemen  of  liberal  education,  together  with 
some  of  the  reverend  ministers  of  the  town,  to  be  inspectors  of 
the  schools,  and,  under'  that  name  and  title,  to  visit  the  schools 
when,  and  as  often  as  they  think  fit,  to  inform  themselves  of  the 
methods  used  in  teaching  of  the  schools,  and  to  inquire  of  their 
proficiency,  and  to  be  present  at  the  performance  of  some  of  their 
exercises,  the  master  being  before  notified  of  their  coming,  and 
with  him  to  consult  and  advise  of  further  methods  for  the 
advancement  of  learning  and  the  good  government  of  the  school ; 
and,  at  their  visitation,  one  of  the  ministers  by  turns  to  pray  with 
the  scholars,  and  entertain  them  with  some  instructions  of  piety 
specially  adapted  to  their  age  and  education."  By  the  same 
vote,  "  the  inspectors  were  authorized,  with  the  master,  to  intro- 
duce an  usher  upon  such  salary  as  the  town  shall  agree  to  grant 
for  his  services."  Five  inspectors  of  the  schools  were  accord- 
ingly appointed,  and  the  system  was  persevered  in  for  several 
years ;  afterwards  it  was  discontinued ;  and  the  practice  pre- 
vailed for  the  selectmen  annually  to  visit  the  schools,  accompa- 
nied by  as  many  gentlemen  as  they  chose  to  invite,  which  were 
often  not  less  than  fifteen  or  twenty.  This  practice  continued 
until  after  the  American  Revolution  and  the  treaty  of  peace  sub- 
sequent. The  proceedings  of  the  town  in  relation  to  these  insti- 
tutions will  be  related  hereafter  in  connection  with  those  of  the 
city.i 

For  more  than  a  centmy  after  the  settlement  of  the  town,  it 
was  destitute  of  an  established  public  market.  Provisions  were 
brought  in  carts  to  the  doors  of  the  inhabitants,  and  an  opinion 
generally  prevailed  that  the  tendency  of  a  local  market  was  to 

1  In  1739,  tlie  whole  number  in  all  the  town  schools  was  593 
1741,  "  "  "  "  "  474 

1743,  "  "  "  "  «  585 

1754,  «  «  "  "  «  848 

1763,  "  "  «  "  »  832 

1773,  «  «  «  '.'  «  719 


TOWN   GOVERNMENT.  H 

mcourage  forestalling  and  raise  the  price  of  provisions.  In  1733, 
;he  question  of  establishing  a  public  market  was  first  decided  in 
;he  affirmative  ;  ayes  366,  nays  339.  But  at  an  adjourned  meet- 
ng,  a  few  days  after,  the  former  vote  was  rescinded,  and  the 
question  decided  in  the  negative  ;  390  ayes,  41o  nays. 

In  1734,  by  way  of  compromise,  three  markets  were  esta- 
)lished  by  vote  of  the  inhabitants, —  a  south,  centre,  and  north. 

In  April,  1737,  the  town  voted  that  the  south  and  north  mar- 
ket should  be  appropriated  to  some  other  use  ;  and  to  what  use 
hey  should  be  put  was  referred  to  the  selectmen.  Before  their 
lecision  was  known,  the  centre  market,  near  the  town  dock,  was 
)ulled  down  by  a  mob,  and  the  selectmen  reported  that  the  south 
narket  should  be  leased  for  shops,  and  that  the  north  market 
ihould  be  removed. 

This  report  occasioned  warm  debates,  and  one  of  the  inhabit- 
ints  was  reprimanded  by  the  town,  and  ordered  to  be  silent,  for 
anguage  implying  that  the  selectmen  had  made  their  report  in 
Lgreement  with  the  mob.  Their  report  was  accepted,  and  the 
lubject  was  not  again  revived  until  1740,  when  Peter  Faneuil 
)ffered,  "  on  his  own  proper  cost,  to  build  a  noble  and  complete 
itructure  to  be  improved  for  a  market,  for  the  sole  use  and  bene- 
it  of  the  town,  provided  the  town  would  accept  the  same,  and 
nake  proper  regulations,"  a  meeting  being  called  "  to  know  the 
ninds  of  the  inhabitants,  whether  they  would  accept  the  same, 
m  condition  that  the  market  people  should  he  at  liberty  to  carry 
heir  marketing  ivheresoever  they  pleased  about  tow?i.^^  Notwith- 
itanding  this  condition,  and  although  a  vote  was  passed  thanking 
\lv.  Faneuil  for  his  generous  offer,  the  question  of  accepting  it 
vas  carried  only  by  a  majority  of  seven;  367  ayes  and  360 
lays. 

In  1742,  the  market  house  was  erected  by  Mr.  Faneuil  on  the 
own's  land,  near  the  dock.  The  edifice  was  of  brick,  two  sto- 
les in  height,  and  one  hundred  feet  in  length  by  forty  in  breadth. 
'A  noble  structure,"  say  the  records,  "  far  exceeding  his  first  pro- 
josal,  inasmuch  as  it  contains  not  only  a  large  and  sufficient 
iccommodation  for  a  market-place,  but  has  also  superadded  a 
spacious  and  most  beautiful  town-hall  over  it,  and  several  other 
ionvenient  rooms."  Votes  were  immediately  passed  by  the  town, 
ippointing  the  selectmen  and  the  representatives,  and  t^velve 
)thers  of  the  most  distinguished  inhabitants,  a  committee  to 


12  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

wait  upon  Mr.  Faneuil,  and  "  in  the  name  of  the  town  to  render 
him  their  most  hearty  thanks  for  so  bountiful  a  gift,  with  their 
prayers  that  this  and  other  expressions  of  his  bounty  and  charity 
may  be  abundantly  recompensed  by  the  Divine  blessing.  It  .was 
also  voted  that,  "  in  testimony  of  the  town's  gratitude,  and  to 
perpetuate  his  memory,  the  hall  over  the  market-place  should  be 
called  Faneuil  Hall,  and  that  a  picture  of  him,  at  fuU  length,  be 
drawn,  and  placed  in  said  hall,  at  the  expense  of  the  town." 

Mr.  Faneuil  died  on  the  third  of  March,  1743,  and,  on  the 
fourteenth,  "being  the  first  meeting  in  Faneuil  Hall  after  his 
death,"  at  the  request  of  the  selectmen,  "  John  Lovell,  master  of 
the  South  Grammar  School,  delivered,  in  presence  of  the  town, 
an  oration  on  his  death;  the  moderator's  seat  being  hung  in 
mourning  cloth  on  the  occasion."  This  oration  was  transcribed 
at  length  on  the  town's  records,  and  celebrates  with  great  pathos 
and  power  "  the  largeness  of  his  heart,  the  unbounded  nature  of 
his  private  charities,"  and  his  "  public  spirit  and  munificence."  ^ 
Afterwards  the  arms  of  his  family  were  placed  in  Faneuil  Hall 
by  vote  of  the  town.  These  proceedings  did  not  extinguish  the 
spirit  of  opposition  to  a  market-house. 

In  1746,  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  petitioned  "  that  Faneuil 
Hall  should  be  shut  up,  and  the  building  appropriated  to  some 
other  purpose."  Although  the  attempt  was  not  at  this  time 
successful,  it  was  renewed  the  next  year,  (1747,)  and  the  market 
shut  up  until  September  following,  and  then  till  March,  1748, 
when  it  was  again  opened,  at  first  for  three  days,  and  afterwards 
for  every  day  in  the  week.  In  1752,  the  contest  was  again 
renewed,  and  the  market  was  shut  up  until  the  farther  order  of 
the  town.  In  August  of  that  year,  the  question  of  opening  the 
market  was  again  raised,  and,  after  violent  debates,  passed  in 
the  negative  ;  only  one  hundred  and  two  votes  being  in  the 
affirmative,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  in  the  negative. 
In  March,  1753,  however,  a  vote  for  opening  it  was  obtained, 
and  the  stalls  were  authorized  to  be  leased ;  in  which  result  the 
inhabitants  finally  acquiesced. 

In  February,  1761,  Faneuil  Hall  was  destroyed  by  fire,  the 

^  Mr.  Faneuil's  mansion  house  was  situated  in  Tremont  Street,  in  the  midst  of 
extensive  _  gardens,  opposite  the  Chapel  Burial  Ground.  His  family  Hed  from 
France  with  the  Huguenots,  in  1686.  The  grasshopper,  on  the  vane  of  Faneuil 
Hall,  was  the  crest  of  their  arms. 


TOWN   GOVERNMENT.  13 

walls  only  being  left  standing.  The  town  resolved,  in  March 
following,  that  the  edifice  should  be  rebuilt,  and  that  the  lower 
part  should  "  not  be  improved  as  a  market  until  the  farther  order 
of  the  town."  To  defray  the  expense,  the  General  Court  granted 
a  lottery.  The  first  meeting  in  the  hall,  after  it  was  repaired, 
was  on  the  fourteenth  of  March,  1763.  The  original  dimensions 
of  the  building,  as  erected  by  Mr.  Faneuil,  were  not  enlarged 
until  the  year  1805,  when  it  was  extended  in  breadth  to  eighty 
feet,  and  a  third  story  was  added  to  its  height. 

The  spirit  of  liberty  and  jealousy  of  town  and  colonial  rights 
breathe  through  the  records  of  Boston  from  the  earliest  period  of 
the  settlement.  By  the  early  laws  of  the  colony,  every  town 
having  ten  freemen  might  send  one  deputy  to  the  General  Court. 
Every  town  having  twenty  freemen  might  send  tivo ;  but  no  town 
more  than  two.  The  town  of  Boston,  as  its  population  increased, 
became  sensible  of  the  inequality  of  their  influence  in  the  colo- 
nial legislature,  compared  with  their  numbers.  "  We  have  four 
churches,"  say  the  records ;  "  our  members  are  twenty  times 
twenty ;  the  number  of  our  representatives  should  be  proportion- 
ate." No  relief  was,  however,  granted  in  this  respect,  until  after 
the  charter  of  William  and  Mary,  in  1692,  by  which  the  legisla- 
ture of  the  province  was  allowed  to  fix  the  number  of  deputies 
each  town  might  send ;  and  Boston  was  immediately  allowed 
four  representatives. 

The  practice  of  instructing  the  representatives  of  the  town  in, 
the  General  Com't  was  early  adopted,  and  occasionally,  and  often 
annually,  continued  through  every  period  of  colonial  history.  In 
these  instructions,  not  only  objects  of  temporary  and  local  inte- 
rest were  pressed  upon  the  attention  of  their  representatives,  by 
the  town,  but  the  views  and  feelings  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  gene- 
ral nature  were  indicated,  and  their  sentiments  concerning  muni- 
cipal and  colonial  rights  unequivocally  expressed.  Thus,  in 
1751,  they 'were  instructed  to  obtain  the  passage  of  laws  re- 
gulating "  the  accepting  and  entertaining  new  inhabitants  ; " 
against  persons  "transplanting  themselves  from  one  place  to 
another,  without  notice  to  the  selectmen ; "  and  for  "  inquiring 
concerning  the  calling  and  employment  of  those  who  present 
themselves  as  inhabitants  ;  "  and,  subsequently,  in  almost  every 
successive  year,  the  subjects  most  interesting  at  the  period,  such 
as  measTjres  for  "  preventing  the  poor  from  being  chargeable  to 
2 


14  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

the  town,"  and  "providing  workhouses  for  the  idle  and  de- 
bauched," were  urged  upon  the  notice  of  their  representatives. 
The  vigilance  of  the  inhabitants  in  regard  to  their  charter  rights 
and  privileges,  never  failed  to  be  shown,  on  these  occasions,  by 
their  votes  ;  thus,  in  1677,  when  the  claims  of  Mason  and  Gorges 
struck  at  the  powers  of  the  colonial  government,  "  it  is  a  time," 
say  the  inhabitants  to  their  representatives,  "  to  unite,  and  for 
peace  and  amity  to  be  attended  to,"  and  they  were  warned,  "  in 
matters  of  judicature,  not  to  assume  any  arbitrary  power,"  and 
"  to  do  nothing  which  should,  in  the  least  measure  infringe  our 
liberties,  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  granted  us  by  our  charter." 

After  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  in  the 
incipient  stages  of  those  discontents,  which  ultimately  resulted 
in  the  American  Revolution,  the  votes  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
metropolis  exhibited  a  spirit,  which,  in  fact,  constituted  a  lead- 
ing influence  in  the  policy  of  the  colony.  Thus,  in  1721,  their 
representatives  were  instructed  "  to  maintain  our  just  rights  and 
privileges ;  to  pass  laws  encouraging  trade,  husbandry,  and  man- 
ufactm'es  ;  to  vindicate  the  town  against  the  aspersions  which 
had  been  made  against  it  of  being  inclined  to  mobs  and 
tumults ;  in  all  elections  to  have  regard  to  the  preservation  of 
the  just  and  laudable  usages  and  customs  of  reserving  the  allow- 
ances, gratuities,  &c.,  until  the  acts  and  elections  be  fully  com- 
pleted." In  1723,  the  town  addressed  the  king,  repelling  the 
charge  "  of  being  under  no  magistracy  and  of  being  of  a  muti- 
nous disposition,"  which  had  been  brought  against  it  by  Governor 
Shute. 

In  1728,  the  town  voted  extra  pay  to  their  representatives  for 
unusual  hardships  they  had  sustained,  "  for  their  steadfast  adhe- 
rence to  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  people."  In  the  same 
year,  the  question  was  taken  in  town  meeting,  whether  "the 
governor,  (Burnett,)  shall  have  a  salary  settled  upon  him  for  the 
time  being,  and  the  vote  was  unanimously  in  the  negative  ;  and 
the  same  was  the  result  on  the  question  whether  "  a  salary  might 
be  settled  upon  him  for  a  limited  time."  In  the  same  spirit  the 
town  instructed  their  representatives,  in  1729,  "to  pay  due 
respect  to  the  governor,  but  to  use  your  utmost  endeavors  that 
the  house  of  representatives  may  not,  by  any  means,  be  prevailed 
upon,  or  brought  into  the  fixing,  a  certain  salary  for  any  certain 
time  to  the  governor.    But  that  they  improve  their  usual  freedom, 


TOWN   GOVERNIMENT.  15 

in  granting  their  money  from  time  to  time,  as  they  shall  jndgc 
the  province  to  be  able,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  they  shall  think 
most  for  the  benefit  and  advantage  thereof;  and  if  your  pay 
should  be  diverted,  you  may  depend  upon  all  the  justice  imagin- 
able from  this  town  whom  you  represent." 

The  same  direct  and  jealous  spirit,  manifested  in  the  votes  of 
the  town  in  successive  causes  of  popular  discontent,  from  this 
period  to  the  declaration  of  independence,  shows  the  leading  influ- 
ence of  the  town  of  Boston  on  all  the  measures  which  were  the 
precursors  of  that  event.  But  as  these  proceedings  belong  to  the 
general  history  of  Massachusetts,  only  some  of  the  chief  occasions 
seized  upon  to  excite  an  interest  and  union  in  the  principles  of 
civil  liberty  will  be  enumerated.  Thus,  in  1732,  resistance  "  to 
granting  a  certain  salary  to  the  governor,"  and  "  to  compliance 
with  his  majesty's  instructions,  relative  to  supplying  the  trea- 
sury," was  enjoined  by  the  town  on  its  representatives.  In 
almost  every  subsequent  year,  until  1754,  a  similar  spirit  is  evi- 
denced in  the  votes  of  the  town,  accompanied  sometimes,  as  in 
1736  and  the  years  ensuing,  with  complaints  of  the  disproportion 
of  taxation,  misapplication  of  public  moneys,  against  the  excise 
upon  spirits  ;  and,  in  1745,  their  representatives  were  instructed 
"  to  take  care  that  excisemen  and  their  assistants  should  be 
excluded  from  the  house  of  representatives  ; "  and,  in  1754,  to 
obtain  "  a  law,  whereby  the  seats  of  such  gentlemen  as  shall 
accept  posts  of  profit  from  the  crown  or  the  governor,  shall  be 
vacated  agreeably  to  an  act  of  the  British  Parliament,  until  th^ir 
constituents  may  have  an  opportunity  of  reelecting  them,  if  they 
please."  When  the  policy  of  the  British  government,  to  collect 
a  revenue  from  the  colonies,  was  manifested  by  the  stamp  act 
and  its  accompanying  measures,  the  spirit  of  the  town  was  evi- 
denced by  votes  of  the  most  decided  character,  expressed  in 
instructions  to  their  representatives,  and  in  petitions  and  remon- 
strances t-o  the  king  and  the  people  of  Great  Britain. 

In  1767,  the  town  voted  funds  to  procure  the  pictures  of  Colo- 
nel Barre  and  General  Conway,  and  which,  when  received,  they 
ordered  to  be  hung  in  Faneuil  Hall,  as  indications  of  their  grati- 
tude for  their  opposition  to  the  projects  of  the  ministry.  From 
that  period  to  the  declaration  of  independence,  the  unanimity  of 
the  inhabitants,  and  the  principles  by  which  they  were  actuated, 
are  inseparably  identified  with  the  chief  causes  and  characters  of 


16  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

the  American  Revolution,  and  are  among  the  most  prominent 
and  effective  influences  of  that  momentous  crisis. 

During  the  seventeenth  century,  no  indication  of  dissatisfaction 
with  the  form  of  town  government  is  apparent  on  the  records. 
As  early  as  1667,  among  the  instructions  given  by  the  town  to 
its  representatives,  there  was  inserted  the  endeavor  to  obtain  a 
law  "  making  the  town  a  corporation,  or  making  it  a  county  by 
itself"  But  this  desire  had  probably  no  connection  with  any 
discontent  at  that  self-government  which  a  town  organization 
secured  to  its  inhabitants ;  but  exclusively  with  that  of  getting 
rid  of  the  Court  of  Sessions,  whose  authority  it  was  thought 
might  more  properly  be  vested  in  the  selectmen,  and  give  more 
efficiency  and  uniformity  to  the  proceedings  of  the  town.  In 
that  court  was  invested  the  power  to  establish  a  house  of  cor- 
rection, which,  in  utter  neglect  of  the  injunctions  of  the  colonial 
law,  they  had  omitted  to  erect,  choosing,  from  motives  of  eco- 
nomy, to  use  the  common  jail  for  that  purpose;  an  omission  of 
which  the  town  had  reason,  and  did  not  fail  occasionally,  to 
complain.  The  first  proposal  of  change  in  the  form  of  town 
government  appears  to  have  originated  with  the  selectmen  them- 
selves, who,  in  1708,  offered  to  the  inhabitants,  at  a  meeting 
called  for  that  purpose,  the  following  proposition  for  their  con- 
sideration, namely  :  — 

"  That  the  orders  and  by-laws  of  this  town  already  made,  for  the  directing, 
ordering,  and  managing  of  the  prudential  affairs  thereof,  have  not  answered  the 
ends  for  which  they  were  made ;  and  the  principal  cause  thereof  is  a  general 
defect  or  neglect  in  the  execution,  without  which  the  best  laws  will  signify 
little ;  and  one  great  reason  why  they  are  no  better  executed,  is  the  want  of  a 
proper  head,  or  town  officer  or  officers,  empowered  for  that  purpose,  the  law 
having  put  the  execution  of  town  orders  into  the  hands  of  the  justices  only,  who 
are  not  town,  but  county  officers,  and  it  cannot  be  expected  that  they  should 
take  the  trouble  and  care,  or  make  it  so  much  their  business,  as  a  town  officer  or 
officers,  particularly  appointed  or  chosen  thereunto,  must  needs  do.  And,  in- 
deed, for  any  body  or  society  of  men,  as  a  town  is,  to  be  vested  with  power  to 
make  rules  and  by-laws  for  their  own  good  regulation,  and  not  to  have  power 
to  choose  and  appoint  the  head  officer  or  officers,  who  shall  have  power  to  exe- 
cute their  own  orders  and  by-laws,  seems  incongruous,  and  good  order  is  not 
to  be  expected  while  it  remains  so ;  for  as  a  town  grows  more  populous,  it  will 
stand  in  need  of  more  strict  regulation.  The  said  selectmen,  therefore,  pro- 
pose that  tliis  town  do  now  choose  a  committee  of  a  considerable  number  of 
the  freeholders  and  other  inhabitants  of  the  town  to  draw  up  a  scheme  or 
draft  a  cliarter  of  incorporation  for  encouragement  and  better  government  of 
this  town,  in  the  best  manner  the}*  shall  think  suitable,  and  of  the  best  and 


TOWN  GOVERNMENT.  17 

most  suitable  means  foi*  tlie  obtaining  thereof,  and  to  present  tbe  said  scheme 
or  di'aft  to  the  town,  at  their  annual  meeting  in  March  next." 

A  vote  to  that  effect  was  accordingly  passed.  Thirty-one 
inhabitants  of  chief  influence  were  elected  to  constitute  the 
committee.  On  the  fourth  of  March,  1708  -  9,  they  reported  the 
required  draft  or  scheme.  But  the  town  not  only  refused  to 
accept  it,  but  also  refused  to  refer  the  subject  to  any  future 
meeting ;  at  the  same  time  passing  votes  of  thanks  to  the  com- 
mittee for  their  labors.  In  May,  1744,  the  subject  was  again 
revived,  in  a  form,  as  was  probably  supposed,  less  exceptionable. 
"  The  town,"  say  the  records,  "  having  grown  exceedingly  popu- 
lous, a  proposition  was  made  to  apply  to  the  General  Court, 
that  the  selectmen,  for  the  time  being,  might  have  power,  with 
the  consent  of  the  Court  of  Sessions,  to  make  by-laws,  with  a 
penalty  not  exceeding  forty  shillings ;  and  that  they  might  be 
constituted  a  court  of  record,  to  try  and  determine  all  offences 
against  the  by-laws,  with  an  appeal  from  their  judgment  to  the 
Court  of  Sessions."  The  proposition,  however,  after  a  long 
debate,  received  a  decided  negative  from  the  inhabitants,  and  no 
similar  attempt  was  made  until  after  the  peace  of  1783.  The 
few  municipal  relations,  during  this  period  of  general  and  per- 
manent interest  and  importance,  will  be  found  hereafter  stated 
in  this  history,  in  connection  with  some  of  the  principal  institu- 
tions of  the  town  and  city. 

The  receipts  and  expenditures  of  the  town,  during  its  colonial 
period  are  obscurely  traced  on  its  records,  and  the  glimpses  th6y 
give  of  its  wants  and  resources  excite  neither  interest  nor  curi- 
osity. The  ratio  of  the  increase  of  its  population  cannot  at  this 
day  be  ascertained.  It  was  slow  and  gradual.  During  the 
seventeenth  century,  it  never  exceeded  seven  thousand.  In 
1730,  at  the  close  of  the  first  century  from  its  settlement,  its 
population  was  only  fifteen  thousand;  and,  although  in  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  its  numbers  rose  to  eighteen 
thousand,  yet  the  effects  of  wars  with  France,  Spain,  and  the 
Indians,  and  that  of  the  American  Revolution,  reduced  that 
amount,  at  the  peace  of  1783,  to  tw^elve  thousand,  according  to 
the  most  exact  estimates.  The  wants  of  the  community  were 
during  this  period  of  the  first  necessity,  and  its  resources  of 
the  most  limited  and  attainable  kind.  The  government  being 
popular,  and  in  effect  democratic,  the  study  of  those  who  ma- 
2*  B 


18  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

naged  its  concerns  was  chiefly  to  avoid  debt  and  taxation;  and 
when  exigencies  requiring  an  enlargement  of  means  occurred, 
even  where  the  objects  were  both  general  and  permanent,  a  re- 
sort was  had  to  the  liberality  of  the  rich,  to  avoid  the  recurrence 
to  a  tax,  which  might  excite  the  discontent  of  the  less  prosper- 
ous. Thus,  the  establishment  of  an  almshouse,  a  workhouse, 
and  even  the  provision  for  the  absolute  wants  of  the  inmates  of 
those  institutions,  were  occasionally  provided  for  by  subscrip- 
tions, which  were  regarded  and  responded  to  as  approved  means 
in  all  such  exigencies. 

During  the  revolutionary  war,  the  exertions  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  town  were  du-ected  to  providing  for  the  urgent  wants  of 
the  period. 

In  1776,  the  town  was  occupied  in  measures  encouraging  the 
declaration  of  independence,  and  in  pledging  unanimously  their 
lives  and  fortunes  for  its  support;  in  forming  committees  of 
correspondence  and  of  safety ;  offering  bounties  for  volunteers 
for  the  army,  and  providing  arms  and  ammunition  for  the  in- 
habitants. 

In  1777,  the  town  negatived  the  proposition,  to  invest  in  the 
General  Court  the  power  of  forming  a  constitution  for  the  com- 
monwealth ;  took  measures  to  fortify  the  harbor ;  remonstrated 
against  the  return  of  the  Tories ;  borrowed  money  for  the  town, 
and  raised  subscriptions  for  the  poor,  and  recommended  to  the 
churches  to  make  collections  for  the  families  of  the  non-commis- 
sioned officers  and  privates  of  the  army. 

In  1778,  the  articles  of  confederation  were  discussed  and  ap- 
proved ;  monopolists  and  forestallers  denounced ;  the  inhabitants 
were  desired,  in  consideration  of  the  necessities  of  the  time,  not 
to  have  more  than  two  dishes  of  meat  on  their  tables ;  and  com- 
mittees were  raised  to  provide  shirts,  stockings,  and  shoes  for 
the  army. 

In  1779,  measures  were  taken  to  relieve  the  town  from  the 
great  scarcity  of  provisions  and  necessaries  of  life ;  to  boiTow 
money;  to  raise  contributions  for  the  poor;  to  form  a  conven- 
tion ;  to  frame  a  new  constitution  for  the  state ;  for  protection 
against  invasion ;  for  regulating  the  prices  of  goods  and  pro- 
visions, and  prosecuting  those  who  violated  the  rules  on  this 
subject. 

In  1780,  the  new  constitution  proposed-  for  the  state  was  con- 


TOWN  GOVERNMENT.  19 

sidered  by  sections  in  town  meeting ;  many  days  wore  occupied 
in  the  discussion,  several  amendments  proposed,  and  the  consti- 
tution partially  accepted ;  measures  were  taken  to  enlist  men  for 
the  army,  and  to  raise  contributions  for  the  poor. 

In  1781,  heavy  assessments  were  voted  by  the  inhabitants  for 
procuring  men,  and  beef  and  clothing  for  the  army,  and  for  con- 
tributions for  the  support  of  the  poor  in  the  almshouse.  Mea- 
sux'es  were  also  taken  on  the  subject  of  the  depreciation  of  paper 
money;  and  the  subject  of  the  fisheries  was  made  a  topic  of 
earnest  representation  to  the  General  Court.  On  occasion  of  a 
visit  to  the  town  by  the  Marquis  Lafayette,  he  was  formally 
addressed  by  the  inhabitants,  with  expressions  of  "  their  cordial 
esteem  and  affection;"  to  which  Lafayette  responded,  in  terms 
manifesting  his  "lively  sense  of  attachment  and  gratitude  to  the 
inhabitants." 

In  1782,  measures  were  taken,  on  the  memorial  of  the  over- 
seers of  the  poor,  who  represented  the  inmates  in  the  almshouse 
to  be  in  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  the  master  of  it  to 
be  greatly  in  debt  for  his  advances  for  their  relief.  Committees 
were  raised  on  the  subject  of  "  the  alarming  combination  of  the 
bakers;"  against " illicit  trade;"  and  "the  foolish  predilection  for 
British  manufactures;"  and  for  the  purpose  of  forming  associ- 
ations to  prevent  smuggling;  and  for  the  memorializing  the 
General  Court  on  the  unconstitutionality  of  the  Lord's  Day  Act. 

These  measures,  with  others  too  numerous  to  be  recapitu- 
lated, accompanied  with  reports,  memorials,  and  instructions  to 
representatives,  which  fill  the  town  records,  so  engrossed  the 
thoughts  of  the  inhabitants  with  topics  of  general  interest  and 
vital  importance,  as  to  supersede  all  recurrence  to  subjects  of  a 
municipal  character,  until  the  peace  of  1783. 


CHAPTER  11. 

TOWN   GOVEEmiENT.     1783-1821. 

State  of  tlie  Public  Schools  —  Measures  in  regard  to  tliem — Successive  At- 
tempts to  change  the  Government  of  the  Town  — Plan  of  a  City  Government 
adopted. 

For  upwards  of  forty  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  Massachusetts,  in  1780,  the  municipal  affairs  of  the  town 
of  Boston  were  conducted  on  the  same  simple  and  economical 
scale,  which  antecedent  practice  had  sanctioned.  During  this 
interval,'the  management  of  the  schools,  'the  attempts  to  incor- 
porate the  town,  'and  the  arrangements  for  the  support  of  the 
poor,  constitute  the  chief  topics  of  interest  and  excitement. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  proceedings  relative  to  the  schools,  from 
their  first  establishment  under  the  colonial  law,  in  1635,  until  the 
American  Revolution,  is  chiefly  derived  from  the  reports  of  the 
selectmen,  or  of  committees  annually  appointed  for  their  super- 
vision. These  state,  in  general,  their  good  condition,  and  the 
number  of  scholars. 

After  the  peace  of  1783,  a  committee  on  the  schools  "lament 
that  so  many  children  should  be  found  in  the  streets  playing  and 
gaming  in  school  hours,  owing  either  to  the  too  fond  indulgence 
of  parents,  or  the  too  lax  government  of  the  schools.  They 
deprecate  the  effect  upon  the  rising  generation ;  and  recommend 
that  the  selectmen  should  be  enjoined  to  take  care  that  no  per- 
son should  open  a  private  school  without  their  recommendation,* 
agreeably  to  the  good  and  salutary  laws  of  the  commonwealth." 

Occasional  efforts  were  made  for  improvements  of  the  schools ; 
but  no  general  system  was  adopted  until'  October,  1789,  when 
a  large  committee  was  appointed  on  the  subject,  who  with 
much  deliberation  reported  a  system  which,  after  some  opposi- 
tion, was  sanctioned  and  carried  into  effect.  The  schools  then 
constituted  by  this  arrangement  were,  one  for  the  instruction  of 
boys  in  Greek  and  Latin,  and  for  fitting  them  for  the  university, 
called  the  Latin  School,  in  which  duly  qualified  candidates  might 


TOWN  GOVERNMENT.  21 

be  admitted  at  ten  years  of  age,  and  continue  four  years ;  tnree 
reading  and  three  writing  scliools,  one  of  each  at  the  north,  the 
centi'e,  and  the  south  part  of  the  town,  into  which  candidates 
were  admitted  at  seven  years  of  age,  and  might  continue  till  six- 
teen. Boys  might  attend  all  the  year  round ;  girls,  from  the 
20th  of  April  to  the  20th  of  October. 

The  selectmen,  and  twelve  other  persons,  annually  elected  in 
town  meeting  by  ballot,  were  authorized  to  superintend  the 
schools ;  to  appoint  masters  and  ushers,  and  fix  their  salaries ; 
to  visit  the  schools  once  every  quarter,  by  sub-committees,  and 
exercise  all  the  powers  the  selectmen  had  done  under  the  colo- 
nial government.  Votes  were,  subsequently,  annually  passed  by 
the  town,  confirming  the  above  authority,  and  occasionally 
enlarging  and  strengthening  it. 

'The  school  committee  was  organized  by  this  arrangement 
in  1790,  and  its  records,  which  commence  in  1792,  have  been 
regularly  continued.^ 

At  this  period  there  were  only  seven  to^vn  schools,  denomi- 
nated the  Latin  Grammar,  the  North  Reading,  the  North  Writ- 
ing, the  South  Reading,  the  South  Writing,  the  Centre  Reading, 
and  the  Centre  Writing  Schools. 

Their  number  was  increased  by  the  erection  of  the  INIayhew 
School,  at  West  Boston,  in  180-3;  of  the  Hawes,  at  South  Boston, 
in  1811 ;  and  of  the  Smith,  for  colored  children,  in  1812. 

The  inability  of  the  poorer  classes  to  qualify  their  children  for 
admission  to  the  common  schools,  led  the  town,  in '1818,  to 
sanction  the  establishment  of  primary  schools,  for  the  education 
of  children  between  four  and  seven  years  of  age. 

For  their  management,  the  school  committee  were  authorized, 
annually,  to  appoint  three  inhabitants  in  each  ward,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  provide  instruction  for  children  between  the  above- 
mentioned  ages,  and  apportion  the  expenses  among  the  several 
schools.     - 

In  1818,  the  Boylston  School  was  authorized,  and  a  school- 
house  erected  in  1819. 

In  1820,  an  English  classical  school  was  established,  having 

1  TLe  first  elected  members  were,  Hon.  Thomas  Dawes,  Eev.  SarancI  West, 
Rev.  Dr.  Lathrop,  Rev.  James  Freeman,  Dr.  Nathaniel  Appleton,  Dr.  Aaron 
Dexter,  Dr.  Thomas  Welsh,  John  C.  Jones,  Jonathan  Mason,  Jan.,  Christopher 
Gore,  George  Richards  Minot,  and  William  Tudor. 


22  MUNICIPAL  HISTOET. 

''for  its  object  to  enable  the  mercantile  and  mechanical  classes  to 
obtain  an  education  adapted  for  those  children,  whom  their  pa- 
rents wished  to  qualify  for  active  life,  and  thus  relieve  them  from 
the  necessity  of  incurring  the  expense  incident  to  private  aca- 
demies. The  candidates  were  to  be  admitted  at  twelve  years  of 
age,  and  continue  three  years ;  good  acquaintance  with  reading, 
writing,  English  grammar  in  all  its  branches,  and  with  arith- 
metic as  far  as  Proportions,  were  requisite  for  admission. 

At  the  time  of  the  transfer  of  the  schools  from  the  town  to  the 
city,  their  number  were  as  foUows  : 

The  Latin,  established  in  1635;  the  Eliot,  in  1713;  the 
Adams,,  in  1717 ;  the  Franklin,  in  1785 ;  the  Mayhew,  in  1803 ; 
the  Hawes,  in  1811;  the  Smith,  in  1812;  the  Boylston,  in  1819; 
and  the  English  Classical,  in  1820.  The  number  of  primary 
schools  were  thirty-five. 

The  annual  expenses  of  the  whole  system,  with  sufficient 
accuracy,  may  be  stated  at  forty  thousand  dollarst  The  salaries 
of  the  masters  of  the  Latin  and  English  Classical  Schools  were 
two  thousand  dollars  each ;  of  the  sub-masters,  twelve  hundred ; 
of  their  ushers,  averaging  at  seven  hundred.  Those  of  the 
reading  and  ^^Titing  masters  being  twelve  hundred ;  of  their 
ushers,  six  hundred,  with  some  diminution  of  salary  in  respect 
of  the  master  at  South  Boston,  and  of  the  master  of  the  school 
for  colored  children ;  the  former  receiving  only  eight,  and  the 
latter  only  six  hundred  dollars  annual  salary. 

The  number  of  boys  attending  the  Latin,  EngHsh,  classi- 
cal, and  reading  schools  being 1844 

Those  attending  the  writing, 945 

2789 

The  number  of  girls  attending  the  reading  schools,  .         .     883 
Those  attending  the  writing  schools,  .         .         .         .864 

1747 

4536 

The  above  may  be  regarded,  for  all  general  purposes,  a  suffi- 
ciently near  approximation  to  the  number  and  expenses  of  the 
schools,  and  the  number  of  those  of  both  sexes  instructed  in 
them,  when  taken  possession  of  by  the  city  government. 
/ 1      The  events  of  the  American  Revolution  had  strengthened  the 
I  attachment  of  a  great  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  to 


TOWN  GOVERmiENT,  23 

the  form  of  town  government.  In  town  meetings  their  measures 
of  opposition  to  the  pretensions  of  Great  Britain  had  been  origin- 
ated, been  agitated  and  adopted,  and  the  affection  of  the  inha- 
bitants to  the  forms,  under  which  their  efforts  had  been  crowned 
with  success,  was  increased. '•'  The  name  and  character  of  "  toivn" 
became  identified  with  the  idea  of  popular  power  and  civil  liberty,/'  I 
DThis  sentiment,  united  with  the  natural  reluctance  with  which 
every  people  part  with  authority  they  have  long  and  successfully/ 
exercised,  rendered  all  attempts  at  change,  not  so  much  unpopu-j 
lar,  as  hateful,  to  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants. 

The  inconveniences,  resulting  from  the  form  of  town  govern- 
ment, became,  however,  every  year  more  apparent  to  intelligent 
and  influential  citizens,  and  in  May,  1784,  on  the  petition  of  a 
large  number  of  the  inhabitants,  a  committee  ^  of  thirteen  was 
appointed  "to  consider  the  expediency  of* applying  to  the  Gene- 
ral Court  for  an  act  to  form  the  town  of  Boston  into  an  incorpo- 
rated city,  and  report  a  plan  of  alterations  in  the  present  govern- 
ment of  the  police,  if  such  be  deemed  eligible."  This  committee 
was  selected  with  great  care  from  among  the  most  influential  and 
popular  inhabitants,  and  on  the  fourth  of  June  ensuing,  they 
reported  two  plans  ^  of  a  corporation,  which,  being  read,  were 

^  The  committee  were  Samuel  Adams,  Joseph  Barrell,  Stephen  Higginson, 
Charles  Jarvis,  William  Tudor,  Robert  Treat  Paine,  Perez  Morton,  Samuel 
Breck,  Edward  Paine,  James  Sullivan,  Thomas  Dawes,  Benjamin  Hichborn, 
and  Caleb  Davis. 

2  The  following  condensed  abstracts  of  these  plans  will  give  a  sufficient  gene- 
ral idea  of  their  import :  — 

FIRST  -PLAN. 

The  town  to  be  a  body  politic  by  the  name  and  style  of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen, 
and  Common  Council  of  the  City  of  Boston,  with  the  following  powers  and  privi- 
leges :  — 

1.  To  be  invested  with  all  the  real  and  personal  estate  of  the  town,  with  power 
to  dispose  of  the  same  under  specified  limitations. 

2.  To  be  capable  to  sue  and  of  being  sued. 

3.  Three  meetings  of  the  inhabitants  to  be  held  in  the  year,  namely,  —  in 
March,  to  ehoose  city  officers  ;  in  April,  to  choose  state  officers ;  in  May,  to 
choose  representatives.  General  meetings  to  be  called  by  the  mayor,  at  the 
request  of  fifty  citizens. 

4.  In  March,  the  qualified  voters  were  to  choose  by  ballot  a  mayor,  a  recorder, 
twelve  overseers  of  the  poor,  sixteen  firewards,  seven  assessors,  a  county  trea- 
surer and  registrar ;  and,  on  the  day  following,  the  inhabitants  of  each  ward  to 
choose  in  its  ward  one  alderman  and  two  common  councilmen. 

5.  The  legality  of  the  electors  to  be  determined  by  the  common  council. 

6.  The  city  officers  to  take  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  office. 

7.  The  recorder  to  be  a  person  discreet  in  the  law. 

8.  The  mayor,  recorder,  and  common  councilmen  to  constitute  a  common 


24  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

ordered  to  be  printed  and  distributed  to  each  house,  the  town 
adjourning  to  the  seventeenth  of  the  same  month  to  take  them 
into  consideration.  At  this  meeting,  it  was  voted  that  "  the  sense 
of  the  town  be  taken  on  the  expediency  of  making  any  alterations 
in  the  present  form  of  town  government."  ''  On  which  question 
the  records  state,  —  "  but  the  impatience  of  the  inhabitants  for 
the  question  being  immediately  put,  prevented  any  debate 
thereon,  and  it  passed  in  the  negative  by  a  great  majority,  and 
the  meeting  was  immediately  dissolved." 

This  result  did  not,  ■  however,  deter  the  friends  of  a  change 
from  further  effort;  and  in  November,  1785,  the  attempt  was 
renewed,  on  petition  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  chosen  "  to  state  the  defects  of  the  present  constitu- 
tion of  the  town,  and  to  report  how  far  the  same  may  be  reme- 
died without  an  act  of  incorporation."  This  committee,  com- 
posed of  men  of  great  popularity  and  influence,  reported,  pro- 
bably more  from  a  sense  of  the  impracticability  ot  effecting  any 
change  arising  from  the  existing  state  of  prejudice,  than  from  any. 
want  of  perception  of  the  inconveniences  experienced,  "  that  they 
do  not  report  any  defects  in  the  constitution."  After  debate,  this 
report  was  accepted,  and  leave  given  to  the  petitioners  to  with- 
draw their  petition. 

council,  with  power  to  make  by-laws  and  ordinances  not  repugnant  to  the  laws 
of  the  commonwealth,  and  not  to  be  in  force  until  pubHshed  in  two  newspapers. 

9.  The  common  council  to  have  power  to  raise  money  ;  of  which  the  mayor 
and  aldermen  were  to  have  the  exclusive  right  of  aj^propriating,  laying  an 
account  of  their  expenditures  before  the  people  annually,  in  March. 

10,  11,  and  12,  relate  to  the  trial  of  breaches  of  the  by-laws,  the  making  a 
common  seal,  and  to  tunes  of  meeting  of  the  common  council. 

13.  No  assembly  was  to  be  deemed  a  common  council,  unless  either  the  mayor 
or  recorder,  at  least  seven  aldermen  and  thirteen  common  councilmen  were 
present. 

The  remaining  articles  relate  to  the  choice  of  a  town  clerk,  to  the  granting  the 
freedom  of  the  city,  to  the  removal  of  city  officers  for  misconduct,  and  to  the  fill- 
ing vacancies  in  case  of  their  death. 

SECOND    PLAN. 

This  coincides  with  the  first,  except  that  the  style  of  the  body  politic  was  to  be 
"  The  President  and  Selectmen  of  the  City  of  Boston." 

Art.  4.  In  March,  the  qualified  voters  were  to  choose  by  ballot  a  president  and 
six  selectmen,  twelve  overseers  of  the  poor,  sixteen  firewards,  seven  assessors,  a 
county  treasurer  and  registrar ;  and  the  day  following,  each  ward  should  choose 
one  selectman  for  such  ward. 

Art.  7.  The  president  and  eighteen  selectmen  to  constitute  a  city  board.  The 
president  always  to  be  pi'esent,  with  powers  to  make  laws. 

The  other  articles  not  materially  different  from  those  of  the  first  plan. 


TOWN  GOVERNMENT.  25 

The  subject  remained  dormant  until  December,  1791,  when  it 
was  again  renewed,  by  a  petition  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants, 
"  setting  forth  the  want  of  an  efficient  police "  on  which  was 
raised  a  large  and  respectable  committee,^  consisting  of  inhabit- 
ants of  leading  influence  in  both  the  political  parties  of  the 
period.  This  committee,  after  long  deliberation,  reported  a  sys- 
tem,2  which,  after  being  read,  discussed,  amended  in  town  meet- 
ing, and  accepted  by  paragraphs,  was  ordered  to  be  printed  and 
distributed  in  handbills.  The  town  then  adjourned  until  the 
twenty-sixth  of  January  ensuing,  for  its  final  consideration,  when 
it  was  rejected ;  five  hundred  and  seventeen  voters  being  in  the' 
affiirmative,  and  seven  hundred  and  one  in  the  negative. 

In  May  following,  the  attempt  to  effect  a  change  in  the  sys- 
tem of  town  police,  and  for  the  better  execution  of  the  laws,  was 
revived,  and  met  a  similar  fate. 

No  subsequent  attempt  of  this  kind  was  made  until  January,  | 
1804,  when,  by  the  increase  of  its  population,  the  inconvenience 
of  conducting  town  affairs,  in  general  meetings,  became  more 
apparent  to  the  inhabitants.     A  large  committee  ^  was,  in  conse- 

1  The  members  of  the  committee  were,  —  James  Sullivan,  Charles  Jarvis, 
Thomas  Dawes,  Jr.,  Judge  Paine,  AVilliam  Tudor,  Caleb  Davis,  Benjamin  Aus- 
tin, Jr.,  Jonathan  Mason,  Jr.,  Stephen  Higginson,  William  Evistis,  Christopher 
Gore,  William  Little,  John  Q^  Adams,  Edward  Edes,  John  Lucas,  Thomas 
Tileston,  James  Prince,  Thomas  Edwards,  Paul  Eevere,  Edward  Tyler,  Charles 
Bulfinch. 

2  The  following  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  system  reported :  —  ; 

1.  That  the  town  be  divided  into  nine  wards,  as  ecpal  as  may  be  in  point  of 
the  numbers  of  the  inhabitants  of  each,  which  the  selectmen  might  change,  if  they 
saw  fit,  once  in  three  years. 

2.  Each  ward  to  elect  two  men  residing  in  the  ward,  who,  with  the  selectmen, 
should  constitute  a  town  council,  and  possess  the  following  powers  :  — 

First,  of  making  by-laws  with  limited  penalties.  No  by-law  to  be  enacted, 
until  it  shall  have  had  three  several  readings  on  three  several  days,  and  shall 
have  been  pubUshed  for  the  inspection  of  the  inhabitants ;  nor  be  perpetual  until 
reenacted  by  a  subsequent  town  council,  by  the  same  formalities. 

Second,  to  regulate  all  public  carriages  within  the  town,  and  to  raise  duties 
upon  them. 

Third,  that  the  town  council  have  power  to  appoint  annually  all  the  executive 
officers  then  appointed  by  the  town,  except  selectmen,  town  clerk,  overseers  of 
the  poor,  assessors,  town  treasurer,  school  committees,  auditors  of  accounts,  fii'e- 
wards,  collectors  of  taxes,  and  constables. 

Fourth,  to  direct  prosecutions  for  violations  of  the  by-laws,  and  for  this  purpose  -, 
to  appoint  an  attorney. 

Fifth,  to  apply  to  the  General  Court  for  the  establishment  of  a  tribunal  vdth. 
one  judge,  having  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  such  prosecutions. 

3  The  members  of  this  committee  were  as  follows  :  — 

Josiah  SneUing,  Ozias  Goodwin,  Robert  Gardner,  Jacob  Ehoades,  Eedford 


26  MUNICIPAL  HISTOKY. 

quence,  appointed,  composed  of  persons  very  equally  selected 
from  the  two  political  parties,  which,  at  that  time,  divided  the 
town  and  commonwealth,  with  instructions  to  consider  and 
report  any  alteration  in  the  town  government  they  deemed  expe- 
dient. 

They  had  frequent  meetings  and  long  deliberations,  and  in 
March  reported  to  the  inhabitants  a  system  ^  of  municipal  govern- 
ment, in  which  they  had  carefully  endeavored  to  combine  a  strict 
regard  to  the  efficiency  of  the  new  organization  of  authority, 
with  as  little  offence  as  possible  to  the  prejudices  and  habits  of 
the  inhabitants.  Notwithstanding  this  endeavor,  and,  although 
the  composition  of  the  committee  had  effectually  neutralized  all 
political  elements,  the  inherent  attachment  of  the  inhabitants  to 
the  form  of  town  government  was  not  diminished.  A  warm, 
and  somewhat  tumultuous  debate  ensued,  resulting  in  a  decided 
negative  of  the  whole  report. 

No  farther  attempt  to  change  the  town  organization  occurred 
until  1815,  when  Charles  Bulfinch,  who  had  been  chairman  of  the 
board  of  selectmen  and  superintendent  of  police  ever  since  the 
year  1800,  and  two  other  efficient  members  of  that  board,  were 
not  reelected.  The  circumstance  was  a  subject  of  very  general 
surprise  and  regret.  Every  elected  member  of  the  board  of  select- 
men immediately  resigned,  and,  on  a  second  trial,  Mr.  Buffinch^ 

Webster,  Thomas  Lewis,  Jr.,  Amasa  Stetson,  Samuel  Sturges,  Thomas  Edwards, 
Nathan  Webb,  Isaiah  Doane,  Joseph  Hall,  William  Spooner,  James  Prince, 
William  Smith,  Edward  Gray,  Harrison  G.  Otis,  Rnfus  Green  Amory,  James 
Sullivan,  George  Blake,  John  Davis,  Charles  Jarvis,  William  Brown,  and  Charles 
Paine. 

1  The  following  outline  will  give  a  sufficient  general  idea  of  this  system :  — 
A  town  council  to  be  constituted  of  the  selectmen,  chosen  by  the  citizens  in 

general  meeting,  and  of  two  delegates  from  each  ward,  chosen  in  ward  meetings. 
By  this  town  council  an  intendant  and  all  other  town  officers  were  to  be  chosen ; 
except  the  town  clerk,  the  overseers  of  the  poor,  board  of  health,  firewards, 
school  committee,  and  assessors,  aU  of  whom  were  to  be  chosen  by  the  inhabit- 
ants in  town  meeting ;  the  intendant  to  have  the  appointment  of  a  police  officer, 
and  to  be  ex  officio  the  jDresiding  officer  of  the  board  of  selectmen,  and  with  them 
to  have  the  superintendence  of  the  police  and  execution  of  the  laws. 

2  Few  men  deserve  to  be  held  by  the  citizens  of  Boston  in  more  grateful 
remembrance  than  Charles  Bulfinch.  After  being  graduated  at  Harvard,  his 
father,  a  physician  of  eminence  and  fortune,  pennitted  him  to  travel  in  Europe 
and  cultivate  his  taste  for  the  fine  arts.  On  his  return,  he  turned  his  attention 
to  the  improvement  of  his  native  town,  and  induced  other  citizens  of  wealth  and 
enterprise  to  unite  with  him  in  the  purchase  of  a  portion  of  Avaste  and  marsh 
land,  in  forming  it  Into  streets,  and  erecting  a  range  of  buildings,  now  known  as 
Franklin  Place.  The  cenotaph  of  Franklin  and  the  open  space  around  it  were 
given  by  him  and  his  associates  to  the  public.    This  undertaking,  which  was  too 


TOWN  GOVERNMENT.  27 

and  the  other  members  of  the  board  of  the  preceding  year  were 
reinstated  by  decided  majorities. 

These  occurrences  again  directed  public  attention  to  the  dis- 
advantages of  town  government,  and,  on  the  petition  of  a  large 
number  of  the  inhabitants,  a  committee  formed  of  two  indi- 
viduals, elected  in  each  ward,  was  authorized  to  consider  the 
expediency  of  a  change  of  the  government. 

In  October,  1815,  this  committee  i  presented  a  bill,  accompa- 
nied by  an  explanatory  report,  which  were  printed  for  general 
distribution,  and  a  town  meeting  was  called  on  the  thirteenth  of 
November  ensuing,  to  decide  upon  its  acceptance.  The  system 
now  proposed,  was  the  nearest  approximation  to  a  city  form  of 
government  any  previous  committee  of  the  town  had  ventured 
to  attempt,^  and  the  result  came  nearest  to  success,  it  being 
rejected  only  by  a  majority  of  thirty-one  ;  nine  hundred  and  fifty- 
one  being  in  the  negative,  and  nine  hundred  and  twenty  in  the 
affirmative. 

expensive  for  the  period,  seriously  affected  his  fortunes,  and  the  art  he  had  stu- 
died for  amusement  became  his  profession.  As  the  principal  architect  of  the 
town  of  Boston  and  its  vicinity,  the  state  house  and  many  other  public  build- 

inga    -wovo    oi-ootod    on    Kio    piano.       During    the  many  years  he  presided  OVer  the 

town  government,  he  improved  its  finances,  executed  the  laws  with  firmness,  and 
was  distinguished  for  gentleness  and  urbanity  of  manners,  integrity  and  purity 
of  character.  Under  his  superintendence,  Faneuil  Hall  was  enlarged  to  double 
its  ancient  area,  and  the  streets  of  the  town  greatly  improved.  In  1818,  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Monroe  architect  of  the  Capitol  at  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton. 

1  The  members  were,  —  John  Phillips,  John  T.  Apthorp,  Ebenezer  T.  Anj 
drews,  Francis  Welsh,  John  Mackay,  Lynde  Walter,  Jonathan  Whitney,  Wil- 
liam Homer,  Jacob  Rhoades,  Thomas  Badger,  J.  C.  Rainsford,  John  Cotton, 
Redford  Webster,  A.  Crocker,  William  Mackay,  John  Wood,  Joseph  Howe, 
James  Robinson,  Benjamin  Smith,  Josiah  Quincy,  George  Blake,  Benjamin 
West. 

9  The  following  outline  will  give  a  sufficient  general  idea  of  this  plan  :  — 
The  style  or  title  for  the  municipal  organization  was  proposed  to  be,  —  "  The 
Intendant  and  Municipality  of  the  Town  and  City  of  Boston."  The  municipal- 
ity to  consist  of  the  selectmen  chosen  by  all  the  citizens  in  town  meeting,  and  of 
two  delegates  from  each  Avard,  chosen  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  ward.  This 
municipality  to  have  poAver  to  elect  annually  all  the  officers  now  chosen  by  the 
town,  except  selectmen,  overseers  of  the  poor,  school  coimiiittee,  town  clerk,  fire- 
wards,  board  of  health,  and  assessors,  who  were  to  continue  to  be  chosen  by  the 
inhabitants  at  large  in  town  meeting.  The  "  intendant "  was  to  be  chosen  annu- 
ally by  the  selectmen  and  delegates,  together  with  the  overseers  of  the  poor  and 
board  of  health.  The  powers  to  be  exercised,  according  to  this  project,  by  the 
intendant  and  the  other  organic  bodies  it  constituted,  were  marked  out  with  suffi- 
cient general  precision ;  and  as  all  the  then  existing  boards  were  continued, 
and  to  two  of  them  a  voice  was  given.  In  conjunction  with  the  municipality,  in 
the  election  of  the  intendant,  it  was  hoped  that  a  sufficient  deference  had  been 
paid  to  popular  habit  and  feelings,  to  insure  its  adoption. 


28  MUMCIPAL  HISTORY. 

In  1821,  the  impracticability  of  conducting  the  municipal 
interests  of  the  place,  under  the  form  of  town  government,  be- 
came apparent  to  the  inhabitants. ' '  With  a  population  upwards 
oi  forty  thousand^  and  with  seven  tliousand  qualified  voters,  it  was 
evidently  impossible  calmly  to  deliberate  and  act.  When  a 
.town  meeting  was  held  on  any  exciting  subject  in  Faneuil  Hall, 
those  only  who  obtained  places  near  the  moderator  could  even 
hear  the  discussion.  A  few  busy  or  interested  individuals  easily 
obtained  the  management  of  the  most  important  affairs,  in  an 
assembly  in  which  the  greater  number  could  have  neither  voice 
or  hearing. 

When  the  subject  was  not  generally  exciting,  town  meetings 
were  usually  composed  of  the  selectmen,  the  town  officers,  and 
thirty  or  forty  inhabitants.  Those  who  thus  came  were,. for  the 
most  part,  drawn  to  it  from  some  official  duty  or  private  interest, 
which,  when  performed  or  attained,  they  generally  troubled  them- 
selves but  little,  or  not  at  all,  about  the  other  business  of  the 
meeting.  In  assemblies  thus  composed,  by-laws  were  passed ; 
taxes,  to  the  amount  of  one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  voted,  on  statements  often  general  in  their 
nature,  and  on  reports,  as  it  respects  the  majority  of  voters  pre- 
sent, taken  upon  trust,  and  which  no  one  had  carefully  considered 
except  perhaps  the  chakman. 

In  the  constitution  of  the  town  government  there  had  resulted 
,  in  the  course  of  time,  from  exigency  or  necessity,  a  complexity, 
little  adapted  to  produce  harmony  in  action,  and  an  irresponsibi- 
lity irreconcilable  with  a  wise  and  efficient  conduct  of  its  affairs. 
On  the  agents  of  the  town  there  was  no  direct  check  or  control; 
no  pledge  for  fidelity,  but  their  own  honor  and  sense  of  charac- 
ter. The  prosperity  of  the  town  of  Boston,  under  such  a  form 
of  government;  the  few  defalcations  which  had  occurred;  the 
frequent,  and  often  for  years  uninterrupted,  reelection  of  the  same 
members  to  the  officiating  boards,  are  conclusive  evidences  of 
the  prevailing  high  state  of  morals  and  intelligence  among  the 
inhabitants. 

Besides  the  principal  boards  of  selectmen,  the  overseers  of  the 
poor,  and  that  of  health,  there  were  the  board  of  firewards,  of 
assessors,  and  of  the  committee  of  the  schools.  The  executive 
power  was,  in  effect,  divided  among  the  three  first  above-named. 
Each  of  these  claimed  independence  of.  the  other ;   each  pos- 


TOWN  GOVERNMENT.  29 

sessed  a  qualified  control  in  respect  of  expenditures;  while,  at 
the  same  time,  their  respective  authorities  were  often  obscurely 
separated,  and  sometimes  identical.  It  is  evident  that,  among 
independent  boards  thus  constituted,  petty  jealousies,  rivalry, 
and  collisions  must  occasionally  take  place ;  which  accordingly 
happened. 

The  management  of  the  finances  of  the  town  presented  a 
curious  and  somewhat  anomalous  spectacle.  The  three  boards, 
of  selectmen,  overseers  of  the  poor,  and  board  of  health,  being 
the  exclusive  expending  agents  of  the  town,  were  also  consti- 
tuted a  committee  of  finance.  They  chose  annually,  in  conven- 
tion, the  treasurer  and  collector  of  the  town,  settled  his  accounts, 
and  every  year,  in  the  month  of  March,  presented  to  the  town  a 
general  statement  of  the  expenditure  of  each  board;  and,  after 
deducting  the  effective  incomes,  an  estimate  of  the  amount  of 
tax  necessary  to  be  raised,  to  meet  the  anticipated  expendi- 
tures of  all  the  boards  for  the  ensuing  year.  The  tax  thus  y 
proposed  was  often  voted  at  a  town  meeting,  in  which  the' 
members  of  those  boards  themselves  constituted  a  majority  of 
the  inhabitants  present.  When  raised  and  collected,  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  tax  were  drawn  for  by  each  of  these  boards,  according 
to  their  respective  exigencies,  of  which  each  board  was  the  sole 
judge  for  itself.  Thus,  while  these  boards  were  exclusively  the 
expending  power,  they  virtually  exercised  the  whole  power  of 
taxation.  For  the  annual  town  tax  was  almost  ever,  without 
exception,  regulated  by  their  estimates ;  and  each  board  having, 
individually,  or  in  conjunction  with  the  other  boards,  the  power 
of  borrowing  money  and  of  making  contracts,  independent  of 
any  previous  vote  of  the  town,  both  the  power  of  forming  and 
declaring  the  requisite  annual  amount  of  tax  was,  in  fact,  in  their 
hands.  A  conviction  of  the  want  of  safety  and  of  responsibility  " 
in  a  machine  thus  complicated  and  loosely  combined,  became 
at  length  so  general,  that  the  inherited  and  inveterate  antipathy 
to  a  city  organization  began  perceptibly  to  diminish.  About  this 
time,  also,  one  of  the  most  common  and  formal  objections  to  a 
city  organization  was  removed.  The  constitution  of  Massa- 
chusetts, which  was  passed  in  1780,  contained  no  express  author- 
ity to  establish  a  city  organization;  and,  in  every  attempt  to 
change  that  of  the  town,  it  never  failed  to  be  zealously  con-    | 


30  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 


'tended,  that  the  legislature  of  the  commonwealth  possessed  no 
'isuch  power.  But  by  the  amendments  to  the  constitution,  made 
jby  the  convention  of  1820,  and  adopted  by  the  people,  this  power 
•was  expressly  recognized.  The  question,  therefore,  now  stood 
on  its  own  merits,  and  independent  of  constitutional  objections. 
The  debates,  also,  which  occurred  in  this  convention  had  a  tend- 
ency to  open  the  eyes  of  the  inhabitants  to  their  own  interests, 
and  to  allay  some  of  the  long-cherished  prejudices  against  a 
city  organization. 

The  first  step  to  the  measures  which  finally  led  to  this  great 
change  in  the  form  of  town  government  was  rather  incidental 
than  preconcerted,  and  was  the  result  of  circumstances,  which 
might  be  anticipated  from  the  complicated  and  ill-arranged 
organization  of  the  town  system. 

Early  in  the  commencement  of  the  civil  year,  1821,  votes 
had  passed  in  town  meeting,  for  uniting  the  office,  of  county  and 
town  treasurer  in  one  person.  The  three  boards  constituting  the 
committee  of  finance  had  disregarded  those  votes,  and  different 
persons  were  chosen  to  these  offices. 

This  proceeding  was  highly  disapproved  by  the  inhabitants. 
Votes  were  passed  in  town  meeting  censuring  the  committee  of 
finance ;  and  a  committee  was  chosen  to  take  measures  for  car- 
rying into  effect  their  views  relative  to  the  union  of  those  offices 
in  one  person. 

About  the  same  time,  great  discontent  arose  in  respect  to  the 
county  expenditures ;  and  a  committee  was  chosen  to  devise 
measures  that  the  town  might  become  a  county  by  itself.  Very 
full  reports  were  made  by  both  these  committees,  and  a  very 
general  desire  became  apparent,  that  a  more  economical  and 
practical  management  of  the  town  concerns  should  be  effected. 
Accordingly,  on  the  twenty-second  of  October,  a  committee  of 
thirteen  inhabitants  ^  was  selected,  to  whom  the  two  former 
reports  were  referred,  with  instructions  to  report  to  the  town  "  a 
complete  system  relating  to  the  administration  of  the  town  and 
county,  which  shall  remedy  the  present  evils." 

1  The  members  of  this  committee  were,  —  Jolm  Phillips,  William  Sullivan, 
Charles  Jackson,  Josiah  Quincy,  William  Prescott,  William  Tudor,  George 
Blake,  Henry  Orne,  Daniel  Webster,  Isaac  Winslow,  Lemuel  Shaw,  Stephen 
Codman,  Joseph  Tilden. 


TOWN  GOVERNINIENT.  31 

On  the  tenth  of  December,  1821,  this  committee  made  their 
report;^  but  did  not  venture  to  go  farther  than  to  recommend 
some  improvements  in  the  government  of  the  town  ;  and  directed 
their  principal  endeavors  to  the  establishing  of  a  police  court, 
consisting  of  three  justices  paid  by  salaries,  instead  of  a  court  of 
sessions,  paid  by  fees ;  and  to  effect  the  transfer  of  the  transac- 
tion of  the  financial  and  other  business  of  the  town  from  a  gene- 
ral meeting  of  the  inhabitants  to  a  town  council.  The  com- 
mittee did  not  deem  the  inhabitants  to  be  prepared  to  change 
the  form  of  the  executive  of  the  town ;  they,  therefore,  left  it  in 
the  hands  of  the  selectmen,  with  such  powers  as  the  town  coun- 
cil might  from  time  to  time  confer  on  them. 

After  considerable  debate,  Benjamin  Russell,  an  inhabit- 
ant at  that  period  distinguished  foF  Hs  great  activity  and  influ- 
ence on  all  occasions  of  political  excitement,  popular  with  the 
party  predominating  at  that  time  in  the  politics  of  the  town,  and 
a  leader  among  the  mechanics,  openly  declared  that  the  commit- 
tee "  had  not  gone  far  enough  in  its  alterations,  and,  in  his  opi- 
nion, a  great  change  had  been  effected  in  the  minds  of  the  inha- 
bitants on  the  subject  of  city  government,"  and  concluded  liis 
remarks,  by  moving  "  that  the  report  should  be  recommitted  to  the 
same  committee,  with  the  addition  of  one  person  from  each  ward 
of  the  town,  with  instructions  to  report  a  system  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  town,  with  such  powers,  privileges,  and  immunities 
as  are  contemplated  by  the  amendment  of  the  constitution  of  the 
commonwealth,  authorizing  the  General  Court  to  constitute  a 
city  government."  This  motion  was  accordingly  adopted,  and  ' 
twelve  persons  chosen  and  added  to  the  former  committee.^ 

On  the  thirty-first  of  December,  1821,  this  committee  of  twenty- 

1  Of  this  system  the  following  is  a  brief  outline  :  — 

The  town  government  to  be  thus  altered,  —  a  body  of  assistants,  to  be  chosen 
annually  in  the  wards,  in  a  ratio  of  one  for  each  nine  hundred  inhabitants, 
which,  according  to  the  then  last  census,  would  constitute  the  number  of  forty- 
one.  These  assistants,  with  the  selectmen,  were  to  form  a  town  council,  and  be 
charged  with  specified  powers,  and  subject  to  specified  restrictions. 

The  town  to  form  a  county  by  itself;  and  the  treasurer  of  the  town  to  be  that 
of  the  county.  The  Court  of  Sessions  to  be  abohshed,  and  its  duties  transferred 
to  other  bodies. 

A  poUce  court  to  be  established,  to  have  cognizance  of  all  civil  and  criminal 
causes  cognizable  by  justices  of  the  peace. 

2  This  addition  to  the  committee  was  constituted  of  George  Darracott,  Bedford 
Webster,  Thomas  Badger,  James  Davis,  Henry  Farnham,  Michael  Roulstone, 
John  Cotton,  Lewis  G.  Pray,  Benjamin  Russell,  William  Sturgis,  Daniel  Messin- 
ger,  and  Gerry  Fairbanks. 


32  MUNICIPAL  fflSTORY. 

five  reported  a  system  of  municipal  government  conformably  to 
their  instructions,  recommending  indeed  a  change  of  the  name 
of  "  town  "  for  that  of  "  city,"  but  not  venturing  to  introduce  the 
names  usual  in  city  organizations,  lest  the  ancient  jealousy, 
which  now  seemed  to  slumber,  should  be  awakened.  In  their 
stead,  the  committee  proposed  that  the  executive  should  be  called 
"  Intendant,"  the  executive  board,  consisting  of  seven  persons, 
"  Selectmen,"  and  the  more  numerous  branch  "  a  Board  of  Assist- 
ants ; "  aU  of  whom,  in  their  aggregate  capacity,  should  be  called 
"the  Common  Council."  The  intendant  to  be  elected  by  the 
selectmen ;  the  selectmen  by  general  ticket ;  the  assistants,  being 
forty-eight  in  number,  four  to  be  chosen  for  each  ward  ;  the  over- 
seers of  the  poor,  firewards,  and  school  committee,  by  the  intend- 
ant, selectmen,  and  assistants ;  the  state  and  United  States  offi- 
cers by  general  ticket. 

After  a  debate  of  three  days,  in  which  the  report^as  amended, 
by  denominating  the  executive  board  "  Mayor  and  Aldermen," 
the  latter  to  consist  of  eight  persons,  the  name  of  the  "  Board  of 
Assistants  "  being  also  changed  into  that  of  the  "  Common  Coun- 
cil," and,  in  their  aggregate  capacity,  "the  City  Council,"  the 
mayor,  aldermen,  overseers  of  the  poor,  firewards,  state,  and  Uni- 
ted States  officers  to  be  chosen  by  the  citizens  at  large,  voting  in 
wards,  the  report  was  so  far  accepted  as  to  be  submitted  to  the 
inhabitants  for  their  acceptance.  On  the  points  connected  with 
these  amendments,  the  debate  in  town  meeting  chiefly  turned ; 
but  little  opposition  was  made,  or  modifications  proposed,  to 
those  features  of  the  plan,  which  related  to  the  distribution  and 
limitations  of  powers  among  the  several  branches  of  the  govern- 
ment, or  to  the  organization  of  the  police  court. 

During  the  debate  of  the  three  days,  considerable  warmth  was 
manifested,  and  some  confusion  occurred ;  but  the  report,  as 
amended,  was  finally  submitted  to  the  inhabitants  for  their  sanc- 
tion, in  the  form  of  five  resolves,  to  be  decided  by  ballot  of  yea 
and  nay.     Of  which  the  tenor  was  as  follows  :  — 

1.  That  we  approve  of  the  alteration  in  the  form  of  town 
government  submitted  by  this  report. 

2.  That  the  United  States  and  commonwealth  officers  be 
chosen  in  ward  meetings. 

3.  That  the  city  council  determine  the  .number  of  representa- 
tives to  the  General  Court. 


TOWN  GOVERNMENT.  33 

4.  That  we  approve  that  the  town  should  be  a  county  by 
itself,  and  that  the  town  treasurer  be  county  treasurer,  that  the 
court  of  sessions  be  abolished,  and  a  police  court  substituted. 

5.  That  the  name  of  "  Town  of  Boston  "  should  be  changed 
into  that  of  "  City  of  Boston." 

On  Monday,  the  seventh  of  January,  1822,  the  ballots  of  the 
inhabitants  were  taken  on  the  above  resolves,  and  all  were  passed 
in  the  affirmative  as  follows  :  — 


Yeas. 

Nays. 

Majority. 

1. 

2805 

2006 

799 

2. 

2611 

2195 

416 

3. 

2690 

2128 

462 

4. 

4557 

257 

4300  ;-; 

5. 

2727 

2087 

640 

The  assent  of  the  inhabitants  being  thus  expressed  in  favor  of 
this  great  change,  measures  were  immediately  taken  to  obtain 
the  sanction  of  the  legislature  of  the  commonwealth. 


CHAPTER   III. 

TOWN  GOVERNMENT.     1821-1822. 

The  Almshouse  removed  from  Beacon  Street  to  Leverett  Street  —  Overseers  of 
the  Poor  remonstrate  on  its  Condition  —  Proceedings  of  the  Legislature  of 
Massachusetts  on  the  Subject  of  Pauperism  —  Erection  of  a  House  of  Indiistrj"- 
authorized  by  the  Inhabitants  of  Boston  —  Noble  Conduct  of  Samuel  Brown — 
His  Character  —  House  of  Industry  erected  —  Act  of  Incorporation  of  the 
City  obtained  and  accepted  —  John  Phillips  chosen  Mayor. 

The  defects  and  insufficiency  of  the  Boston  Almshouse  became 
a  subject  of  earnest  complaint  soon  after  Massachusetts  attained 
the  rank  of  an  independent  state.  By  a  report  of  a  committee 
of  the  town  in  the  year  1790,  it  appears  that  it  was  destitute  of 
a  separate  hospital  or  infirmary ;  that  persons  of  every  age  and 
character  were  lodged  vmder  the  same  roof ;  the  sick  disturbed  by 
the  noise  of  the  healthy ;  and  the  aged  and  infirm  endangered 
and  annoyed  by  the  diseased  and  profligate.  All  attempts  to 
change  the  locality  of  the  institution  were  unsuccessful  until  the 
year  1801,  when  an  almshouse  was  erected  in  Leverett  Street, 
and  that  in  Beacon  Street  discontinued  and  the  land  sold. 

The  new  building  was  of  enlarged  dimensions  and  accommo- 
dations, but  its  interior  arrangements  did  not  permit  the  separa- 
tion of  age  and  misfortune  from  vice  and  vagrancy.  In  1802, 
one  year  after  the  removal  of  the  almshouse  to  Leverett  Street, 
the  importance  of  erecting  another  building,  for  a  house  of  cor- 
rection, was  forcibly  urged  on  the  town  by  a  committee  of  the 
selectmen,  of  which  Charles  Bulfinch  was  chairman,  accompa- 
nied by  estimates  of  the  probable  cost.  Its  immediate  erection 
was,  however,  postponed,  on  account  of  the  pecuniary  exigencies 
of  the  town.  No  further  proceedings  occurred  until  1812,  when 
the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  themselves  memorialized  the  town  on 
the  inconveniences  of  the  Leverett  Street  Almshouse,  and  stated 
that  among  four  hundred  persons,  then  its  inmates,  nearly  three 
hundred  were  aged,  or  invalids,  or  children  ]  fifty  were  sick  in  the 
hospital,  and  twenty  insane ;  \\\dii  fifty  were  able  to  perform  differ- 


TOWN  GOVERmiENT.  35 

ent  kinds  of  work,  some  of  whom  were  subjects  of  the  House  of 
Correction ;  and  with  much  feeling  and  pathos  urged  upon  the 
town  the  necessity  of  erecting  a  building  for  that  purpose,  in  the 
yard  of  the  Almshouse,  and  prayed  for  authority  and  an  appro- 
priation for  the  object.  The  report  was  unanimously  accepted 
by  the  town,  but  nothing  was  effected  in  consequence ;  and  the 
condition  of  the  poor  in  the  Almshouse  continued  without  ame- 
lioration. 

In  1820,  the  state  of  pauperism  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
legislature  of  Massachusetts ;  and  on  the  motion  of  one  ^  of  the 
representatives  of  the  town  of  Boston,  a  special  committee  was 
raised  on  the  pauper  laws,  of  which  the  mover  was  appointed 
chairman. 

On  the  recommendation  of  this  committee,  the  legislature 
passed  a  resolve,  requesting  the  towns  in  Massachusetts  to  trans- 
mit to  the  secretary  of  state  such  information  as  their  experience 
had  suggested,  on  the  best  mode  of  supporting  the  poor.  In 
January,  1821,  the  returns  of  the  towns  were  referred  to  the 
same  committee,  who  made  a  report  containing  abstracts  of  the 
most  important  statements  in  those  returns,  and  of  their  conclu- 
sions on  the  subject,  which  were  printed  by  order  of  the  legisla- 
ture, and  distributed  throughout  the  Commonwealth. 

In  May  following,  the  town  of  Boston,  on  the  petition  of 
Joseph  May  and  others,  raised  a  committee  to  consider  the  sub- 
ject of  "  pauperism  at  large."  Of  this  committee,  the  chairman 
of  the  legislative  committee  was  also  appointed  chairman,  and 
not  having  been  present  at  the  town  meeting,  he  had  no  know- 
ledge of  the  petition,  until  he  was  apprised  by  the  petitioners 
that  the  cause  of  his  selection,  as  the  chairman  of  the  committee, 
was  the  coincidence  of  their  views  with  the  principles  of  his 
legislative  report.  That  committee,  therefore,  in  general,  guided 
their  proceedings  by  those  principles,  and  referred  to  them  in 
their  reports  to  the  town,  which,  being  successively  sanctioned 
by  the  votes  of  the  inhabitants,  became  the  basis  of  the  institu- 
tion now  called  "  the  House  of  Industry,"  at  South  Boston. 

The  principles  of  that  report  to  the  legislature,  being  the 
results  of  the  experience  of  both  England  and  Massachusetts, 
were  as  follows :  — 

^  Josiah  Quincy. 


36  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

"1.  That  of  all  modes  of  providing  for  the  poor,  the  most 
wasteful,  the  most  expensive,  and  most  injurious  to  their  morals, 
and  destructive  of  their  industrious  habits,  is  that  of  supply  in 
their  own  families. 

"2.  That  the  most  economical  mode  is  that  of  almshouses, 
having  the  character  of  workhouses  or  houses  of  industry,  in 
which  work  is  provided  for  every  degree  of  ability  in  the  pauper, 
and  thus  the  able  poor  made  to  provide,  partially,  at  least,  for 
their  own  support ;  and  also  the  support,  or  at  least  the  com- 
fort, of  the  impotent  poor. 

"  3.  That  of  all  modes  of  employing  the  labor  of  the  pauper, 
agriculture  affords  the  best,  the  most  healthy,  and  the  most  cer- 
tainly profitable  ;  the  poor  being  thus  enabled  to  raise  always  at 
least  their  own  provisions. 

"  4.  That  the  success  of  these  establishments,  depends  upon 
their  being  placed  under  the  superintendence  of  a  board  of  over- 
seers, constituted  of  the  most  substantial  and  intelligent  inhabit- 
ants of  the  vicinity. 

"  5.  That  of  all  causes  of  pauperism,  intemperance  in  the  use 
of  spirituous  liquors  is  the  most  powerful  and  universal." 

Coinciding  in  the  above  views,  the  committee  of  the  town  of 
Boston  ^  held  frequent  meetings  and  discussions  ;  and  examined 
particularly  into  the  situation  of  the  Boston  Almshouse.  Their 
views  were  corroborated  and  confirmed  by  a  report  made  to  them, 
at  their  request,  by  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  of  the  town,  dated 
the  twenty-ninth  of  March,  1821,  which  stated  that  only  thirty- 
six  rooms  could  be  appropriated  to  lodging  the  inmates  of  the 
institution ;  that  these  rooms  ought  not  to  have  more  than  eight 
or  ten  persons  each,  but  that  some  of  these  rooms  have  been,  in 
some  winters,  croiuded  to  nearly  double  that  number  for  a  short 
time ;  that  the  overseers  could  not  distinguish  the  cases  of  the 
deserving  and  undeserving  by  any  certain  rule,  but  that  not  more 
than  one  fourth  part  were  absolutely  of  the  former  class ;  and 
that  the  others  might  be  graduated  from  temporary  to  absolute 
dissoluteness,  intemperance,  &c. 

The  report  further  stated,  that  the  old  almshouse  included 

1  This  committee  were,  —  Josiah  Quincy,  Joseph  Loverin<j,  James  Savage, 
Hemy  J.  Oliver,  Francis  Welsh,  Joseph  May,  Thollias  Howe,  William  Thurston, 
Abram  Babcock,  Samuel  A.  Welles,  James  T.  Austin,  Benjamin  Rich,  and 
Joseph  Woodward. 


TOWN  GOVERNMENT.  37 

three  distinct  establishments,  —  the  ahiishousc,  the  workshop, 
and  the  bridewell.  The  first  for  the  poor,  who,  from  sickness, 
age,  or  infirmity,  were  unable  to  work  at  all ;  the  second,  for  the 
poor  who  were  able  to  work,  more  or  less ;  the  third,  for  persons 
committed  on  justices'  warrants,  for  petty  offences.  That  in 
December,  1800,  the  building  in  Leverett  Street  was  erected  and 
intended  for  an  almshouse ;  but  that  "  no  building  had  been 
erected  either  for  a  workhouse  or  bridewell,  and  that,  therefore, 
from  necessity,  the  inhabitants  of  the  three  establishments  were 
obliged  to  be  all  taken  into  the  Almshouse,  which  had  been  thus 
occupied  from  the  year  1800  to  the  date  of  that  report,  without 
the  possibility  of  classing  or  separating  them. 

After  receiving  this  report  from  the  overseers,  the  committee 
visited  Salem,  Marblehead,  and  Cambridge,  and  minutely  exa- 
mined their  respective  almshouses ;  and  in  May,  1821,  made  a 
report  embracing  the  same  general  views  and  arguments  as  those 
contained  in  the  legislative  report,  and  showing  the  success  of 
similar  institutions  in  other  towns  of  the  state,  and  urged  on  the 
inhabitants  of  Boston  the  duty  of  discriminating  between  the 
poor,  by  reason  of  misfortune,  old  age,  and  infancy,  and  the  poor, 
by  reason  of  vice ;  asserting  the  impossibility  of  making  such  a 
discrimination  in  the  Boston  Almshouse,  and,  after  setting  forth 
the  advantages  of  having  attached  to  the  house  erected  for  the 
poor  a  tract  of  land  to  give  them  the  benefit  of  air,  employ- 
ment, and  exercise,  and  the  town'  that  of  their  labor,  coii- 
cluded  wdth  recommending  the  establishment  of  a  house  of 
industry,  with  an  extent  of  land  not  less  than  fifty  acres,  that 
twenty  thousand  dollars  should  be  appropriated  for  its  com- 
mencement, and  authority  given  to  purchase  the  land  and  erect 
such  buildings  as  might  be  necessary. 

This  report  was  accepted  by  the  inhabitants,  the  appropriation 
voted,  and-  a  committee  appointed  to  carry  it  into  effect.^ 

At  the  time  this  report  was  presented,  the  committee  had 
selected  as  the  most  eligible  locality  for  the  proposed  institution, 
that  beautiful  hill  and  site,  commanding  a  view  of  Boston  and 
its  whole  harbor,  where  the  House  of  Industry,  of  Correction, 

1  This  committee  was  composed  of  tlie  same  individuals  as  the  former,  except 
that  David  W.  Child,  John  Bellows,  John  French,  and  George  Darracott  were 
substituted  for  Messrs.  Austin,  Lovering,  May,  and  Woodward,  who  declined 
longer  service  upon  it. 

4 


38  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

and  of  Juvenile  Offenders  are  now  (1851)  erected,  being  at  that 
time  an  open  country,  with  comparatively  no  inhabitants  in  its 
vicinity.  The  tract  of  land,  including  upwards  of  sixty  acres, 
with  an  immense  extent  of  flats  annexed  to  them,  was  then  the 
property  of  Samuel  Brown,  a  merchant,  distinguished  on  the 
Boston  Exchange  for  his  integrity  and  capacity ;  and  it  is  due  to 
the  memory  of  this  noble  spirited  individual,  that  a  fact  relative 
to  this  purchase  should  be  here  recorded. 

As  soon  as  the  committee  had  agreed  on  the  eligibility  of  this 
estate  for  the  location  of  the  House  of  Industry,  the  chairman 
waited  on  Mr.  Brown,  and  fully  explained  their  plans,  and  that 
if  authorized  by  the  town,  they  wished  to  purchase  it  for  that 
purpose,  if  it  could  be  obtained  for  a  fair  price.  Mr.  Brown 
replied,  that  he  highly  approved  the  object,  thought  the  situation 
an  eligible  one,  and  that  he  had  valued  the  land^at  one  hundred 
dollars  an  acre,  at  which  price  the  committee  should  have  it, 
provided  an  authority  should  be  obtained  to  purchase,  and  a 
selection  made  of  it  by  the  committee  within  three  weeks.  On 
being  asked  to  make  that  promise  in  writing,  he  declined ;  say- 
ing only,  "  on  the  terms  above  expressed,  you  shall  have  the 
whole  tract,  being  six  thousand  three  hundred  acres  for  six  thou- 
sand three  hundred  dollars." 

A  vote  of  the  town  was  accordingly  obtained,  and  the  com- 
mittee authorized  the  chairman,  within  the  three  weeks,  to  close 
the  bargain  with  Mr.  Brown  on  the  terms  specified.  On  stating 
the  facts  to  that  gentleman,  he  replied,  — "  Mr.  Quincy,  you 
know  the  agreement  was  verbal,  and  not  binding  in  law ;  and 
since  our  interview  I  have  been  offered  five  hundred  dollars  an 
acre  for  my  land,  making  a  difference  to  me  over  your  offer  of 
upwards  of  tvjenty-five  thousand  dollars.  However,  sir,  I  like  the 
object.  I  think  the  land  uncommonly  well  adapted  to  it.  You 
have  my  word,  and  I  am  not  disposed  to  fall  back  from  it.  You 
shall  have  my  deed."  This  was  accordingly  prepared  imme- 
diately and  executed.  The  value  of  the  lands  in  that  vicinity 
immediately  rose  to  one  thousand  dollars  an  acre,  and  at  no 
subsequent  period  could  they  have  been  purchased  for  less. 

Samuel  Brown  had  been  the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes,  was 
active,  judicious,  and  punctual,  as  a  man  of  business;  of  a  high 
sense  of  honor,  distinguished  for  his  readiness  to  assist  his  friends  i 
with  his  advice  and  his  fortune  ;  public  spirited,  without  ostenta- 


TOWN   GOVERNMENT.  39 

tion  or  any  selfish  views  in  exhibiting  it.  Respect  for  his  me- 
mory should  ever  be  cherished  by  the  citizens  of  Boston. 

The  estate  thus  obtained,  was  laid  out  by  the  committee,  the 
House  of  Industry  erected  upon  it,  and  on  the  twenty-second  of 
October,  they  presented  a  detailed  report,  stating  the  peculiar 
adaptation  of  the  situation  to  the  wants  of  the  contemplated 
institution  to  be  altogether  unequalled ;  the  soil  being  excellent 
and  various  ;  the  distance  from  the  centre  of  the  town,  only  two 
and  a  half  miles  by  land  and  one  and  a  half  by  water,  with  a 
certainty  that  the  facility  of  communication  must  daily  increase, 
and  the  natural  growth  of  the  town  soon  intimately  connect  the 
site  with  the  ancient  parts  of  it ;  that  the  building  erected  was 
two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length,  forty-three  feet  broad, 
twenty-nine  feet  high ;  that  strength,  durability,  and  adaptation 
to  the  wants  of  the  inmates  had  been  consulted  without  special 
regard  to  the  gratification  of  taste  or  architectural  effect. 

The  committee  received  the  thanks  of  the  town,  and  an  addi- 
tional appropriation  of  six  thousand  dollars  was  voted  for  the 
object. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  March,  1822,  the  committee  made 
their  last  report  to  the  town.  The  inhabitants  had,  prior  to  this 
meeting,  accepted  the  charter  for  a  city,  which  the  legislature 
had  granted,  and  which  was  to  be  organized  on  the  May  ensu- 
ing. In  this  report  the  committee  represent  the  progress  of  the 
work ;  recall  the  attention  of  the  inhabitants  to  the  original 
design  of  the  institution ;  moral  effect ;  separation  of  the  idle 
and  vicious  poor  from  those  of  an  opposite  character,  secluding 
them  from  any  occasional  intercourse  with  the  populous  parts 
of  the  town  and  their  old  haunts,  affording  to  them  moral  and 
religious  instruction ;  relieving  the  town  from  open  drunken- 
ness and  sti-eet  beggary,  and  the  petty  pilfering  carried  on  by 
children  of  the  idle  and  vicious  poor,  on  the  wharves,  in  the 
streets  and  the  market-places,  and  thereby,  if  possible,  diminish 
also  the  expenses  of  the  town.  The  inhabitants  accepted  the 
report;  placed  the  additional  appropriation  asked  for  at  the 
disposal  of  the  committee ;  authorized  them  to  provide  for  the 
care  of  the  house  and  land,  to  prepare  a  system  for  the  general 
conduct  and  management  of  the  institution,  and  to  lay  the 
same  before  the  city  authorities,  who  were  requested  to  take  the 
subject  into  their  early  consideration,  and  to  carry  the  same  into 


40  MUNICIPAL   HISTORY. 

effective  operation ;  the  overseers  being  also  requested  to  deliver 
over  any  of  the  able-bodied  poor,  on  the  application  of  the  com- 
mittee, to  be  employed  at  the  House  of  Industry. 

This  was  the  last  meeting,  and  one  of  the  last  acts,  of  the 
"  to^vn  of  Boston ;"  and  in  this  position  the  subject  of  the  House 
of  Industry  stood  at  the  organization  of  the  city  government  in 
May,  1822. 

After  the  peace  of  1783,  the  increase  of  the  population  of  the 
town  of  Boston  was  slow  and  gradual,  amounting  in  1790  to 
about  eighteen  thousand;  in  1800,  to  twenty-five  thousand;  in 
1810,  to  thirty -three  thousand ;  and  in  1820,  to  forty -three  thou- 
sand, which  may  be  regarded,  with  sufficient  accuracy,  the  num- 
ber of  inhabitants  at  the  period  of  the  change  of  Boston  from  a 
town  to  a  city.  During  the  latter  years  of  the  town  government, 
the  data  for  its  financial  history  are  very  complete  and  satisfac- 
tory, and  evidence  the  wisdom  and  fidelity  with  which  its  affairs 
had  been  conducted.  The  only  debt  transferred  from  the  town 
to  the  city  government  but  little  exceeded  seventy-one  thousand 
dollars,  which  was  wholly  incurred  by  the  cost  of  two  prisons, 
then  in  the  course  of  erection,  and  a  new  court  house.  If  little 
had  been  done  by  the  town  government  for  the  widening  of 
streets  and  increasing  the  general  comfort  of  the  inhabitants, 
expenditures  had  been  kept  within  its  incomes,  and  the  resources 
of  the  town  were  unembarrassed  and  unimpaired. 

The  property  delivered  over  by  the  town  to  the  city  was  large 
and  valuable,  but  unproductive,  consisting  chiefly  of  lands  on 
the  Neck  or  the  islands,  and  the  market  under  Faneuil  Hall. 
The  entire  annual  income  of  this  property  did  not  exceed  eigh- 
teen thousand  dollars. 

The  measures  taken  to  obtain  from  the  legislature  of  Massa- 
chusetts a  charter  of  incorporation  were  successful ;  and,  on  the 
twenty-third  of  February,  1822,  an  act  passed  that  body,  en- 
titled "An  Act  Establishing  the  City  of  Boston,"  commonly 
called  "The  City  Charter." 

In  conformity  with  its  provisions,  the  inhabitants  assembled 
in  general  meeting  on  the  fourth  of  March  ensuing,  and  accepted 
the  act  by  vote,  taken  by  ballot,  by  a  majority  of  nine  hundred 
and  sixteen.  The  whole  number  being  four  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  seventy-eight,  of  which  two  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  ninety-seven  voted  in  the  affirmative,  and  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eighty-one  in  the  negative. 


TOWN  GOVERNMENT.  41 

On  the  eighth  of  April  ensuing,  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  was 
held  for  the  election  of  city  officers.  The  whole  number  of  votes 
for  mayor  was  three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eight.  They 
were  chiefly  divided  between  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  and  Josiah 
Quincy ;  but  neither  having  a  majority,  no  choice  was  effected. 

Immediately  on  this  result,  Mr.  Otis  and  Mr.  Quincy  each 
declined  being  a  candidate  for  the  office.  On  the  sixteenth  of 
April,  John  Phillips  was  elected  mayor  with  great  unanimity .^ 


1  The  following  brief  outline  of  the  principal  features  of  this  charter  will 
enable  those  who  have  not  the  means  of  being  familiar  with  its  details,  to  com- 
pare its  general  provisions  with  the  former  unsuccessful  attempts  to  obtain  an 
act  of  incorporation  for  the  city  :  — 

1.  The  title  of  the  corporation  to  be,  "  The  City  of  Boston." 

2.  The  control  of  all  its  concerns  are  vested  in  a  mayor ;  a  board  of  alder- 
men, consisting  of  eight ;  and  a  common  council,  of  forty-eight  inhabitants ;  to 
be  called,  when  conjoined,  "  The  City  Council." 

3.  The  city  to  be  divided  into  twelve  Avards.  The  mayor  and  aldermen,  and 
the  common  council,  to  be  chosen  annually  by  ballot,  by  and  from  inhabitants ; 
four  of  the  common  council  from  and  by  those  of  each  of  the  wai'ds. 

4.  The  city  clerk  to  be  chosen  by  the  city  council. 

5.  The  mayor  to  receive  a  salary.  His  duty  ■ — ■  to  be  vigilant  and  active  in  caus- 
ing the  laws  to  be  executed ;  to  inspect  the  conduct  of  all  subordinate  officers ; 
to  cause  carelessness,  negligence,  and  positive  violation  of  the  laws,  to  be  prose- 
cuted and  punished ;  to  summon  meetings  of  either  and  both  boards ;  to  com- 
municate and  recommend  measures  for  the  improvement  of  the  finances,  the 
pohce,  health,  security,  cleanliness,  comfort,  and  ornament  of  the  city. 

6.  The  mayor  and  aldermen  are  vested  with  the  administration  of  the  police, 
and  executive  power  of  the  corporation  generally,  with  specific  enumerated 
powers. 

7.  All  other  powers  belonging  to  the  corporation  are  vested  in  the  mayor,' 
aldermen,  and  common  council,  to  be  exercised  by  concurrent  vote. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1822-1823. 

John  Phillips,  Mayor?- 

Inauguration  —  Address  of  the  Selectmen,  on  surrendering  the  Government 
and  Muniments  of  the  Town  of  Boston  —  Reply  of  the  Mayor  —  Measures 
adopted  to  carry  into  effect  the  City  Charter  —  Donation  of  Mr.  Sears  — 
Proceedings  relative  to  the  House  of  Industry  —  Result  of  the  First  Year's 
Administration  of  the  City  Government  —  Tribute  to  Mr.  Phillips. 

The  city  government  was  organized,  for  the*  first  time,  on 
Wednesday,  the  first  of  May,  1822,  with  a  solemnity  adapted 
to  the  general  interest  excited  by  the  occasion,  and  the  great 
advantages  anticipated  from  the  new  powers  conferred  by  the 
city  charter. 

A  platform  was  raised  at  the  west  end  of  Faneuil  Hall,  with 
seats  for  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  city  council ;  the  selectmen 
of  the  past  year,  with  other  town  authorities,  and  the  chief  offi- 
cers of  the  Commonwealth.  The  floor  of  the  house  and  the 
galleries  were  filled  with  a  crowded  assembly.  The  city  charter, 
inclosed  in  a  silver  case,  was  laid  upon  a  table  in  front  of  the 
city  council.  After  prayer,  offered  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Bald- 
win, D.D.,  the  oldest  settled  clergyman  in  Boston,  the  oaths  of 
allegiance  and  of  office  were  administered  to  John  Phillips,  the 
mayor  elect,  by  Isaac  Parker,  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common- 
wealth; and  afterwards,  by  the  mayor,  to  the  aldermen  and 
common  council. 

The  chairman  of  the  last  board  of  selectmen^  then  rose  and 
addressed  the  convention,  stating  the  grant  of  a  city  charter  by 
the  legislature  of  the  State  to  the  inhabitants  of  Boston;  their 

1  The  whole  number  of  votes  cast  at  this  election  for  city  officers  were  2650 ; 
of  which  Mr.  Phillips  had  2500.     The  aldermen  elected  were :  — 

Samuel  Billings,  Joseph  Jenkins, 

Ephraim  Ehot,  Joseph  Levering, 

Jacob  Hall,  Nathaniel  P.  Russell, 

Joseph  Head,  Bjyant  P.  Tilden. 

2  Eliphalet  Williams. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  43 

acceptance  of  it ;  their  election  of  the  members  of  the  respective 
executive  and  legislative  boards ;  the  presence  of  these  boards, 
and  their  complete  organization,  according  to  the  provisions  of 
the  city  charter.  In  obedience,  therefore,  to  the  law,  and  in  con- 
formity with  the  will  of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston,  and  in  behalf 
of  the  selectmen  of  the  ancient  town,  he  delivered  into  the  charge 
of  the  new  authorities  the  town  records  and  title  deeds,  and  the 
act  establishing  the  city  of  Boston.  He  then  concluded  with 
congratulating  his  fellow-citizens  on  the  organization  of  their 
municipal  affairs  under  a  city  charter,  and  on  the  wisdom  with 
which  they  had  selected  those  who  were  destined  to  give  the  first 
impulse  and  direction  to  the  operations  of  the  new  government. 

The  Mayor,  in  reply,  paid  a  just  tribute  to  the  wisdom  of  our 
ancestors,  as  displayed  in  the  institutions  for  the  government  of 
the  town  of  Boston,  under  which,  for  nearly  two  centuries,  so 
great  a  degree  of  prosperity  had  been  attained,  and  during  which 
the  great  increase  of  the  population  of  the  place  had  alone  made 
this  change  in  the  administration  of  its  affairs  essential.  He 
then  responded  to  the  congratulations  and  civilities  of  the  Chair- 
man ;  acknowledged  the  obligations  of  the  city  government  for 
the  care  the  selectmen  had  taken  in  providing  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  their  successors;  and  bore  testimony  to  the  full  evi- 
dence, exhibited  by  the  records,  of  the  ability,  diligence,  and 
integrity  of  those  who  had  been  successively,  and  justly,  denomi- 
nated "  The  Fathers  of  the  Town." 

The  Mayor  then  proceeded  to  remark,  in  respect  of  those 
"  who  encouraged  hopes,  which  could  never  be  realized,  and  of 
those  who  indulged  unreasonable  apprehensions,  in  regard  to  the 
city  charter,  that  they  would  derive  benefit  from  reflecting,  how 
much  social  happiness  depended  on  other  causes  than  the  provi- 
sions of  a  charter.  Purity  of  manners;  general  diffusion  of 
knowledge",  strict  attention  to  the  education  of  the  young;  and, 
above  all,  a  firm,  practical  belief  in  Divine  revelation  and  its 
sanctions,  will  counteract  the  evils  of  any  form  of  government; 
and,  while  love  of  order,  benevolent  dispositions,  and  Christian 
piety,  distinguish,  as  they  have  done,  the  inhabitants  of  Boston, 
they  may  enjoy  the  highest  blessings  under  a  charter  with  so 
few  imperfections  as  that  which  the  wisdom  of  the  legislature 
had  sanctioned."  ^ 

1  See  Appendix  A. 


44  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

After  retiring  from  Faneuil  Hall,  the  members  of  the  respect- 
ive boards  met  in  separate  rooms,  and  the  common  council,  hav- 
ing chosen  their  president  ^  and  clerk,^  both  boards  assembled  in 
convention  and  elected  a  city  clerk.^  They  then,  respectively,  in 
their  separate  chambers,  proceeded  to  the  consideration  of  business 
requiring  immediate  attention ;  established  rules  and  orders  regu- 
lating the  intercourse  between  the  two  boards ;  passed  orders  con- 
tinuing in  force  the  by-laws  of  the  late  town ;  establishing  rules 
and  regulations  for  the  preservation  of  public  health,  and  for  the 
appointment  of  temporary  health  commissioners.  And  in  due 
course  of  the  ensuing  and  succeeding  months,  all  the  various 
measures,  for  the  choice  of  city  officers,  and  for  the  efficient 
organization  of  the  different  departments  incident  to  city  police, 
and  required  by  law,  were  taken  ;  and,  as  far  as  practicable,  the 
customs  and  forms  to  which  the  citizens  had  been  familiarized 
under  the  government  of  the  town,  were  adopted.  Three  sur- 
.veyors  of  highways  were  appointed,  and  also  a  committee  of 
the  board  of  aldermen  for  their  advisement.  The  city  engines 
were  intrusted  to  the  firewards.  Salaries  for  the  respective  city 
officers  voted.  A  board,  consisting  of  a  joint  committee  of  the 
two  boards,  denominated  "Auditors  of  City  Accounts,"  was 
constituted,  whose  prescribed  duty  it  was  to  audit  them,  to 
report  cases  of  difficulty,  with  then-  opinion,  to  the  city  council, 
monthly.  The  amount  of  each  account,  when  sanctioned  by 
them,  was  drawn  for,  on  the  city  treasurer,  by  the  city  clerk. 

A  city  seal  was  adopted,  its  impression  exhibiting  a  general 
view  of  the  city  of  Boston,  with  the  respective  dates  of  the 
foundation  of  the  city  and  of  the  gTant  of  its  charter,  bearing 
the  motto,  "  Sicut  Patribus  sit  Deus  nobisy  In  December  of  this 
year  a  vote  passed  both  boards,  authorizing  an  application  to  the 
legislature  for  investing  the  mayor  and  aldermen  with  the  power 
of  surveyors  of  highways.  No  further  steps  were  taken,  how- 
ever, to  effect  this  change  in  the  provisions  of  the  city  charter. 

Early  in  1823,  a  collision  of  opinion  occurred  between  the 
mayor  and  aldermen  and  the  common  council,  concerning  the 
interest  of  the  city,  which  brought  before  those  authorities,  for 
distinct  consideration,  the  question,  whether  the  mayor  and  alder- 
men had  the  power  to  receive  a  gift,  upon  condition,  for  the 

1  WiUiam  Prescott.  2  Thomas  Clarke. 

3  Samuel  F.  McCleary, 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  45 

benefit  of  the  city,  without  the  concurrence  of  the  common 
council.  David  Scars,  a  citizen  distinguished  for  wealth,  libe- 
rality, and  public  spirit,  had  transferred  rights,  consisting  of  six 
hundred  shares  in  certain  lands  and  buildings,  near  the  public 
market  of  the  city,  called  "  Museum  Hall,"  of  the  estimated 
value  of  sixty  thousand  dollars,  to  the  mayor  and  aldermen  of 
the  city,  on  condition  that  the  whole  property  should  be  vested 
and  managed  by  them  at  their  discretion ;  and  one  half  of  the 
income,  forever,  paid  over  to  Mr.  Sears  or  his  heirs,  and  the  other 
half  be  applied  to  improving  or  ornamenting  the  lands  of  the 
city,  lighting  the  streets,  and  other  specified  objects.  This  dona- 
tion was  received  unanimously  by  the  mayor  and  aldermen. 
And,  so  much  pleased  were  they  with  the  gift,  that,  at  then-  sug- 
gestion, Mr.  Sears,  at  some  labor  and  expense,  possessed  himself 
of  the  whole  remaining  rights  in  those  lands  and  buildings,  con- 
sisting of  tivo  hundred  additional  shares,  of  the  estimated  value 
of  sixteen  hundred  dollars,  and  transferred  them  to  the  same 
board,  on  like  conditions.  The  arrangement  had  proceeded  thus 
far  before  it  was  communicated  to  the  common  council;  and, 
when  apprized  of  this  transaction,  that  board  took  it  into  very 
serious  consideration  by  a  committee,  and  finally  voted  unani- 
mously that  it  was  not  for  the  interest  of  the  city  to  accept  the 
donation.  Whatever  other  motives  may  have  mingled  in  pro- 
ducing the  rejection  of  this  gift,  the  principal  reason  stated  was, 
that  it  would  interfere  with  the  profitable  employment  of  the' 
property  which  the  city  then  held,  and  thus  prove  ultimately 
injurious  to  it. 

The  consequent  embarrassment  of  the  mayor  and  aldermen 
was  of  course  excessive ;  which  was  increased  by  the  declaratibn 
of  the  committee  of  the  common  council  to  the  donor,  that, 
although  it  might  be  a  complete  contract  between  him  and  the 
present  mayor  and  aldermen,  as  individuals,  it  would  not  bind 
their  successors,  as  the  transaction  had  not  the  concurrence  of 
the  common  council. 

From  the  dilemma  in  which  the  mayor  and  aldermen  were 
thus  involved  they  were  immediately  relieved,  in  a  highly 
honorable  manner,  by  '^'h'.  Sears ;  who,  in  writing,  requested 
them  to  reinvest  him  with  the  property,  preferring  to  bear  the 
great  loss  to  which  he  was  thus  subjected,  rather  than  be  the 
occasion  of  any  embarrassment  to  that  body,  or  any  cause  of 


46  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

controversy  between  the  two  boards.  The  reinvestment  was 
accordingly  made ;  and  a  vote  passed  by  the  mayor  and  alder- 
men, expressing  their  respectful  sense  of  Mr.  Sears's  intentions 
and  views,  and  their  high  approbation  of  his  delicacy,  in  reliev- 
ing the  city  government  from  the  embarrassment  in  which  it  had 
been  involved,  by  the  different  views  taken  by  the  common 
council  and  the  board  of  aldermen  of  this  donation. 

During  the  first  year  of  the  city,  its  financial  concerns  were 
managed  on  a  scale  not  materially  varying,  either  in  spirit  or 
amount,  from  that  of  the  town  government.  The  committee  on 
that  subject  expressed  "their  unqualified  approbation  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  affairs  of  Boston  have  hitherto  been  con- 
ducted, throughout  all  the  departments ; "  and  then-  "  hope,  that 
changes,  not  absolutely  necessary,  will  be  made  with  caution 
and  distrust,  and  with  much  consideration,"  These  views  had 
been  carried  into  effect  by  the  first  administration,  and  this  hope 
realized.  No  new  debt  had  been  created  dming  the  year.  The 
expenses,  both  of  the  cbunty  and  city,  had  been  kept  within  their 
incomes ;  and  the  second  administration  received  from  the  first 
all  the  property  it  had  received  from  the  town,  unembarrassed 
and  unimpaired. 

Under  the  town  government,  the  financial  year  had  com- 
menced on  the  fu-st  day  of  May.  This  year,  its  commencement 
was  changed  to  the  first  day  of  June.  The  change  was  not 
found  convenient ;  and  in  the  year  1826,  the  first  of  May  was 
again  constituted  its  commencement. 

In  July,  1822,  the  sole  existing  debt  of  the  city  to  be  provided 
for,  was  stated  to  be  $  100,000. 

The  current  expenses  were  estimated  to  amount, 

in  round  numbers,  to       .         .         .         .         .     $  249,000 
And  were  provided  for  by  loan  of      .     $  28,000 
By  specified  ways  and  means      .         .        81,000 
And  by  a  city  tax       ....      140,000 

$  249,000 


The  course  pursued  by  the  city  government,  in  relation  to  the  - 
House  of  Industry,  forms  an  important  feature  of  its  proceedings 
during  this  period.  The  first  city  council  of  Boston  were  organized 
on  the  first  of  May,  1822.  On  the  third  of  that  month,  the 
committee  on  the  House  of  Industry  made  a  communication  to 
the  city  council,  recapitulating  the  authority  given  to  them  by 


CITY   GOVERNIMENT.  47 

the  town,  to  prepare  a  system  for  the  general  conduct,  manage- 
ment, and  discipline  of  the  institution  ;  and  informing  that  body 
that,  by  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  power  to  devise 
such  a  system  was  specially  invested  in  the  Board  of  Overseers 
of  the  Poor,  a  fact  which  was  not  considered  by  the  town  when 
that  vote  was  passed.  The  Committee,  therefore,  stated,  that 
they  had  omitted  the  execution  of  that  authority  until  they 
apprized  the  city  government  of  that  fact,  and  received  their 
instructions.  They  also  stated,  that  the  House  of  Industry  was 
far  advanced  towards  its  completion,  and  would  be  in  a  condi- 
tion to  receive  tenants  in  five  or  six  weeks ;  and  suggested  the 
expediency  of  an  application  to  the  legislature  of  the  Common- 
wealth, or  a  reference  of  the  subject  to  the  Overseers  of  the 
Poor. 

Several  considerations  induced  the  Committee  to  adopt  this 
course.  In  the  first  place,  doubts  began  to  be  entertained,  whe- 
ther the  House  of  Industry  would  ever  be  put  into  operation. 
The  Overseers  made  no  concealment  of  their  hostility  to  the 
plan  of  removing  the  poor  to  South  Boston.  It  was  known 
that  there  was  a  powerful  influence  at  work  in  that  body  in 
favor  of  selling  the  House  of  Industry,  and  enlarging  the  ac- 
commodations in  Leverett  Street.  It  therefore  could  not  be  ex- 
pected the  Committee  should  assume  the  labor  and  responsibility 
of  preparing  the  details  of  a  system  for  an  establishment  which 
might  never  be  carried  into  effect ; ,  and,  if  it  were,  might  be 
placed  in  hands  hostile  or  indifferent  to  the  principle  on  which 
they  might  recommend  it  should  be  conducted.  They  were  also 
apprehensive  that,  if  they  assumed,  even  under  the  vote  of  the 
town,  the  authority  which  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth  in- 
vested in  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  it  might  create  an  increased 
repugnance  in  them  to  the  institution  at  South  Boston. 

The  animosity  of  that  board  to  this  establishment  will  appear 
hereafter.  It  is  here  aUuded  to,  as  explaining  why  the  House  of 
Industry  remained  unoccupied  the  whole  of  the  first  year  of  the 
city  government,  and  indicating  the  cause  of  the  general  course 
of  proceeding  during  that  year,  in  relation  to  it. 

The  communication  of  the  Committee  was  referred  by  the 
City  Council  to  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  and  to  the  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Industry;  and  they  were  requested,  in  conjunc- 
tion, to  take  the  subject  into  consideration,  and  to  devise  a  plan 


48  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

for  the  superintendence  and  government  of  said  house,  such  as 
they  should  deem  useful,  and  report  it  to  the  City  Council. 

Those  two  bodies  had,  accordingly,  several  meetings  on  the  sub- 
ject, in  which  the  Overseers  made  no  concealment  of  then-  want  of 
sympathy  with  the  institution  at  South  Boston ;  refused  to  be  in 
any  way  concerned  in  its  superintendence ;  and  declined  enter- 
ing upon  the  consideration  of  a  system  for  its  discipline  a,nd 
management.  The  result  of  their  deliberations  was  reported  to 
the  City  Council  by  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Industry : 
that  the  Board  of  Overseers  and  that  Committee,  after  joint  con- 
sideration, were  unanimous  in  the  opinion  that,  in  the  present 
increased  and  rapidly  increasing  state  of  this  metropolis,  and  the 
necessa,rily  extensive  character  of  the  contemplated  institution, 
it  would  be  impracticable  for  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  to  under- 
take the  management  and  discipline  of  said  house ;  and  recom- 
mended that  an  application  should  be  made  to  the  legislature  of 
Massachusetts  for  the  estabhshnrent  of  a  new  board,  for  these 
pm-poses,  with  powers  similar  to  those  now  possessed  by  the 
Overseers  of  the  Poor;  reserving  to  the  latter  a  concurrent 
power,  of  committing  persons  liable  to  be  sent  to  that  house. 
A  biU  was  also  prepared  by  the  Committee,  which,  if  approved 
by  the  City  Council,  they  recommended  as  the  basis  of  an  act 
to  be  applied  for  to  the  State  legislature.  The  City  Council 
accepted  the  report,  adopted  the  bill,  and  requested  the  represent- 
atives of  the  city  to  endeavor  to  obtain  an  act  from  the  legisla- 
ture in  conformity  with  its  provisions.  Objections  to  the  bill 
were  raised,  and  nothing  eifectual  done  by  the  legislature  during 
the  spring  session  of  that  body. 

In  June,  1822,  Mr.  Brooks,  chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Finance,  addressed  a  note  to  the  chairman  of  the  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Industry,  inquiring  concerning  "  the  time  and 
manner  in  which  it  was  proposed  to  put  that  estabhshment  into 
operation ;    and  whether  any  further  sums  would  be  wanting 
from  the  city  treasury  ? "      To  which  it  was  replied,  that,  "  in  [ 
all  essential  and  important  particulars,  the  building  had  been 
erected  within  the  appropriations ;  that  furniture,  fences,  work- 
shops, and  subsidiary  buildings  were  still  to  be  provided.     That] 
the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Industry  considered  themselves] 
only  as  agents,  to  carry  into  effect  the  wise  and  humane  inten- 
tions of  the  inhabitants ;  that  they  wanted  no  additional  appro-j 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  49 

priation  ;  and  that  they  were  preparing  to  deliver  up  the  house  to 
the  care  of  the  city  authorities,  as  soon  as  certain  minor  details 
were  effected."  This  they  accordingly  did,  on  the  sixteenth  of 
September  following,  in  a  report  stating  the  degree  of  complete- 
ness it  had  attained ;  and  that,  excepting  fences  and  outbuild- 
ings, the  establishment  was  ready  for  occupation.  After  recapi- 
tulating the  several  successive  authorities  under  which  the  land 
had  been  purchased,  the  house  built,  and  the  amount  expended, 
(forty  thousand  and  one  hundred  dollars,)  they  expressed  a  hope, 
that  the  great  and  interesting  objects  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town  had  in  view  in  its  foundation,  might  be  attained  under 
the  wise  management  of  the  City  Council;  and  that  it  might 
result,  "  as  they  cannot  doubt  it  will,  in  much  moral  reformation 
among  the  poor,  and  in  a  considerable  annual  reduction  in  one 
of  the  heaviest  branches  of  city  expenditure," 

The  City  Council  referred  this  report  to  a  joint  committee; 
but  before  any  proceedings  occurred  under  that  reference,  a  vote 
passed  both  branches  of  that  body,  on  the  twenty-third  of  the 
same  month,  implying  a  neglect  of  duty  in  the  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Industry,  in  the  following  words :  "  Whereas,  the 
Committee  raised  to  erect  a  House  of  Industry  were  instructed 
in  the  month  of  March,  1821,  '  to  form  a  system  for  the  conduct 
of  that  institution;^  and  that  Committee  having  reported  that 
the  house  is  nearly  completed,  hut  that  Committee  not  having' 
reported  any  such  system,  —  voted,  that  the  Mayor  of  the  city  be; 
requested  to  call  on  that  Committee  to  favor  the  city  govern° 
ment  with  their  opinion  on  the  most  expedient  mode  of  putting 
the  said  institution  to  the  uses  intended  by  the  establishment 
thereof." 

The  object  of  this  vote  was  too  apparent  not  to  be  perceived 
by  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Industry.  They  held  an  im- 
mediate meeting ;  and,  on  the  thirty -first  of  October,  their  chap- 
man, under  theu'  sanction,  made  a  report,  stating,  in  vindication 
of  the  Committee,  "  that,  so  far  from  neglecting  the  duty  im- 
posed upon  them  by  the  town,  as  the  vote  of  the  City  Council 
indicated,  that  Committee  did,  on '  the  third  of  May,  two  days 
after  the  organization  of  the  city  government,  make  a  communi- 
cation to  the  City  Council,  informing  them  that,  by  the  laws  of 
the  Commonwealth,  the  power  to  devise  such  a  system  for  the 
poor,  as  the  vote  of  the  town  indicated,  was  vested  alone  in  the 
5 


50  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

Overseers  of  the  Poor;  that  the  City  Council  had  thereupon 
referred  that  subject  to  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  and  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Industry;  that,  on  the  seventeenth  of 
May,  those  two  bodies  met  in  convention,  agreed  upon  the  provi- 
sions of  a  bill  for  the  discipline  and  management  of  said  house, 
which,  having  been  subsequently  modified  in  both  branches 
of  the  City  Council,  had  been  referred  to  the  representatives  of 
the  city,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  sanction  of  the  legisla- 
tm'e ;  and  that  thus,  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Industry, 
so  far  from  not  having  fulfilled  the  instructions  of  the  town,  as 
the  vote  of  the  City  Council  intimated,  they  had  specifically 
performed  it,  as  far  as  the  nature  of  their  powers  authorized,  and 
this,  not  only  with  the  acquiescence,  but  under  the  .sariction  and 
with  the  assistance  of  the  City  Council  which  had  passed  this 
vote  of  implied  censure. 

Touching  the  most  expedient  mode  of  putting  the  institution 
to  the  uses  proposed  by  those  who  estabfished  it,  they  intimated 
that  the  fij'st  step  was  to  obtain  the  sanction  of  the  legislature 
to  the  bill  which  the  City  Council  had  recommended;  that, 
whenever  such  a  bill  should  pass,  and  the  superintending  board 
of  directors  be  elected,  it  would  be  easy  to  adopt  a  system 
for  its  discipline  and  management,  by  selecting  and  collat- 
ing the  wise  rules  which  the  experience  of  other  towns  in  the 
Commonwealth  had  shown  to  be  effectual  for  the  attainment  of 
the  object  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  proposed  to  themselves 
by  its  establishment,  namely,  —  1st.  To  occupy  the  able-bodied 
poor  on  the  land,  thereby  giving  them  a  healthful  exercise,  and 
enabling  them  to  contribute  somewhat  to  their  own  support. 
2d.  By  giving  the  sick  and  infirm  poor  a  freer  air,  and  enabling 
them  to  have  a  freer  range  for  exercise,  in  a  farm  of  fifty  or  sixty 
acres,  than  it  was  possible  in  thickly  settled  parts  of  the  town  to 
obtain.  3d.  By  removing  them  from  the  city,  within  which  the 
necessity  of  allowing  the  inmates  of  the  Almshouse  an  oppor- 
tunity to  take  air  and  exercise,  led  to  a  practice  of  turning  them 
weekly  upon  the  inhabitants,  subjecting  families  to  a  weekly 
visitation  of  vice  and  beggary ;  a  practice  not  less  annoying  to  the 
citizens,  than  it  was  incompatible  with  good  order  and  discipline. 

The  Committee  proceeded  to  state,  that  the  -svant  of  an  institu- 
tion of  this  kind  had  long  been  felt,  and  had  been  urged  on  the 
town,  by  one  of  its  committees,  in  the  year  1802.    Again,  in  1812, 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  51 

the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  themselves  had  mcmoriahzcd  the  town 
on  the  subject  of  the  inadequacy  of  the  Boston  Almshouse  to  the 
necessities  of  the  town.  In  1821,  it  had  been  taken  up  by  the  in- 
habitants, on  their  own  voluntary  motion ;  and  that  the  Hou.se  of 
Industry  had  been  built,  and  the  land  on  which  it  was  located  pvir- 
chased,  at  an  expense  of  nearly  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The  Com- 
mittee then  proceeded  to  illustrate  the  views  entertained  by  the 
friends  of  the  institution,  and  to  show  how  it  was  expected  both  to 
promote  the  comfort  of  the  poor  and  diminish  the  expenditures 
of  the  town.  They  then  illustrated  the  extraordinary  convenience 
and  adaptation  of  the  location  for  such  an  institution ;  recom- 
mended its  being  put  into  immediate  operation  in  the  spirit  and 
on  the  principles  in  which  it  originated,  as  soon  as  the  ensuing 
season  will  permit ;  and  tendered  to  the  City  Council  their  col- 
lective and  individual  communication  of  whatever  knowledge 
or  opinion  they  may  possess  on  the  subject  of  the  government 
and  discipline  of  the  house,  whenever  the  City  Council  should 
honor  them  with  such  a  request. 

This  report  was  committed  to  a  joint  committee  of  the  City 
Council,  of  which  the  Mayor,  (John  Phillips,)  was  chairman ; 
who,  on  the  twelfth  of  December  following,  reported  to  the 
City  Council  that  they  had  examined  the  House  of  Industry 
and  its  buildings ;  that  great  credit  was  due  to  the  Committee 
which  had  superintended  it;  that  the  Committee  of  the  City 
Council  were  surprised  to  find  so  spacious  and  convenient  a- 
structure,  with  a  wharf,  barn,  and  house  for  a  superintendent, 
completed  for  forty  thousand  dollars ;  that  ivhatever  doubt  the 
Committee  might  have  felt  in  recommending'  the  erection  of  such 
an  establishment,  they  declare  their  opinion  that  it  ought  now  to 
be  completed ;  and  they  recommend  a  further  appropriation  of 
five  thousand  dollars,  to  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  same 
Committee,  who  had  so  generously  and  faithfully  superintended 
the  erection  of  the  building,  to  lay  out  the  grounds  and  pm'chase 
implements  of  agriculture,  and  for  the  erection  of  additional  out- 
houses. 

As  to  the  occupation  of  the  house,  the  Committee  of  the  City 
Council  expressed  great  difficulty.  They  recommend,  however, 
that  such  of  the  poor  as  were  capable  of  labor  should  be  removed 
to  it,  as  soon  as  the  contemplated  improvements  were  completed, 
they  being  of  opinion  that  the  poor  of  the  city  would  be  more 


52  MTJOTCIPAL  HISTORY. 

comfortably  situated  at  South  Boston  than  in  the  Boston  Alms- 
house, the  air  being  more  pure,  the  buildings  more  commodious, 
the  yard  more  spacious  and  comfortable;  and  they  declared 
themselves  not  aware  of  any  inconvenience  which  would  attend 
their  removal. 

This  report  was  accepted  in  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  was 
the  only  step  taken  dming  the  first  year  of  the  city  government 
indicative  of  even  an  intent  to  carry  the  project  of  a  transfer  of 
the  poor  to  South  Boston  into  execution. 

The  measm-es  proposed  by  the  aldermen  were, .  however, 
checked  in  the  Common  Council,  by  a  vote  recommitting  the 
whole  subject,  and  "  instructing  the  Committee  to  report  to  what 
use  the  House  of  Industry  may  be  put;  and  what  difficulties 
present  themselves,  if  any,  in  using  the  said  house  conform- 
ably to  the  original  objects  in  creating  said  estabfishment ;  and 
that  said  Committee  be  requested  to  report  in  writing  their 
opinion,  in  conformity  to  this  vote ;  and  that  if  said  Committee 
should  be  of  opinion  that  any  legislative  act  be  necessary,  that 
they  report  any  bill,  in  conformity  with  that  opinion." 

Under  this  vote,  on  the  recommendation  of  that  Committee, 
the  bill  originally  submitted  by  the  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Industry  was  revived  by  vote  of  the  City  Council ;  and,  on  the 
third  of  February,  1823,  an  act  was  obtained  from  the  legislature 
of  Massachusetts,  vesting  in  the  Directors  of  the  House  of  In- 
dustry like  powers,  relative  to  governing  that  house,  as  were 
before  had  and  exercised  by  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  with  other 
provisions  the  above  Committee  had  recommended. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  January,  1823,  the  subject  had  assumed  a 
different  attitude.  Another  Committee  of  the  City  Council  had 
reported  that  a  house  of  coiTcction  was  wanted  in  the  County  of 
Suffolk ;  that  the  Almshouse  in  Boston  was  now  the  only  place  of 
resti-aint ;  that  it  had  only  thirty-two  rooms  for  the  accommodation 
of  more  than  three  hundred  and  eighty  inmates ;  that  some  contain 
fourteen  persons,  and  none  less  than  five,  of  all  ages  and  colors, 
and  in  every  stage  of  poverty  and  disease,  produced  by  misfortune 
and  vice  ;  in  rooms  miserably  adapted  to  the  numbers  croivded  into 
them ;  thatfeiv  places  exhibit  a  more  incongruous  and  unfit  mixture 
of  the  departments  of  a  hospital,  —  an  almshouse  and  house  of  cor- 
rection ;  that  those  who  ivould  contribute  to  their  oivn  maintenance 
cannot  in  such  a  place,  and  that  many  could  do  so  cannot  be  doubted. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  53 

They,  therefore,  recommend  that  the  Boston  Almshouse  and 
the  House  of  Industry  should  both  be  maintained  ;  the  former  to 
be  a  receptacle  of  the  aged,  infirm,  and  sick  poor,  and  little 
childi'en,  under  the  care  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  the  latter 
to  be  a  house  for  the  employment  of  those  poor  who  are  subjects 
of  commitment  to  a  house  of  correction,  and  under  the  care  of 
the  Directors  of  the  House  of  Industry. 

This  report  was  accepted  in  both  branches  of  the  City  Council. 
And  in  concurrence  with  its  recommendations,  the  act  authoriz- 
ing the  City  Council  to  choose  nine  directors  of  the  House  of  In- 
dustry contained  a  section,  giving  to  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor 
and  Justices  of  the  Police  Court  concurrent  jurisdiction  and 
the  same  powers,  in  relation  to  commitments  to  the  House  of 
Industry  as  previously  existed  in  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth 
in  relation  to  commitments  to  houses  of  correction. 

This  attempt  to  turn  the  House  of  Industry  into  a  house  of 
correction,  was  not  only  wholly  incompatible  with  the  original 
design  of  the  town,  in  authorizing  its  erection,  but  would  have 
defeated  the  whole  project  had  it  been  carried  into  execution. 
The  comfort,  the  health,  the  exercise,  and  the  useful  employment 
of  the  virtuous  and  respectable  poor,  was  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  the  design.  The  superior  advantage  for  these  purposes, 
in  a  situation  removed  from  the  throng  of  a  city,  and  having 
space  enough  for  the  useful  employment  of  the  poor  on  the  land, 
and  the  adaptation  of  this  mode  of  employment  for  every  age, 
sex,  and  state  of  capacity  for  labor,  were  among  the  declared 
inducements  for  the  selection  of  the  location  and  the  appropria- 
tion for  the  building.  The  House  of  Industry  was  not  constructed, 
nor  had  it  any  strong  rooms  and  iron  vaulted  cells,  for  the  restraint 
of  sturdy  rogues  and  vagabonds. 

The  picture  drawn  by  this  last  Committee  of  the  City  Council, 
of  the  actual  state  of  the  Boston  Almshouse,  is  sufficient  to  show 
not  only  the  wisdom,  but  the  necessity  of  a  total  change  in  that 
institution.  It  was  not  exaggerated ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  defi- 
cient in  details,  of  a  very  gross  and  disgusting  character,  esta- 
blishing still  more  strongly  the  necessity  of  a  change  in  the  local 
relations  of  the  poor  in  the  city  of  Boston. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  question,  relative  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  House  of  Industry,  at  the  termination  of  the  first 
year  of  the  city  government.    The  decided  animosity  to  the  insti- 


54  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

tution  now  began  to  assume  an  unquestionable  shape,  and  it  was 
very  apparent  to  all  who  took  an  interest  in  the  subject  that  its 
fate  depended  upon  the  character  and  dispositions  of  the  next 
City  CouncU. 

The  preceding  outline  embraces  all  the  measures  during  this 
year  of  the  city  government,  which  were  important  or  conclu- 
sive, except  those  which  are  incident  annually  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  every  municipal  authority ;  —  such  as  the  organization  of 
the  several  boards  of  firewards,  health,  and  highways  ;  appoint- 
ing the  various  officers  of  police  and  finance,  with  the  several 
classes  of  surveyors,  sealers,  and  inspectors ;  superintending  the 
public  lands  and  public  schools ;  establishing  rules  and  regula- 
tions for  the  watch ;  repauing  of  the  streets  and  public  buildings ; 
licensing  theatrical  and  other  exhibitions  ;  establishing  the  sala- 
ries of  city  officers ;  and,  in  general,  exercising  all  the  duties 
natm-ally  incident  to  the  ordinary  routine  of  municipal  organiza- 
tion and  to  the  exercise  of  municipal  powers. 

The  proceedings  of  the  city  government,  during  the  first  year  of 
its  existence,  relative  to  the  Commissioners  of  Health,  the  en- 
largement of  Faneuil  Hall  Market,  the  erecting  tombs  under 
chm'ches,  the  lands  west  of  Charles  Street  and  the  Common, 
then  called  "  the  ropewalk  lands,"  though  taken  into  considera- 
tion, yet  having  resulted  in  no  action  of  a  general  and  permanent 
character,  will  be  stated  in  connection  with  the  account  given  of 
those  subjects  in  the  history  of  the  next  succeeding  administration 
of  the  city,  when  they  were  each  successively  and  carefully  invest- 
igated and  arranged  in  new  forms,  or  finally  settled  on  appro- 
priate principles. 

The  result  of  the  administration  of  city  affairs  during  this  first 
year  had  not  met  the  expectations  of  the  inhabitants.  They  had 
anticipated  from  the  new  charter  gi'eat  changes  in  the  conduct 
of  their  municipal  concerns.  They  had  flattered  themselves  that 
the  new  form  of  organization  would  lead  to  more  efficient,  ener- 
getic, and  responsible  measures  than  could  be  obtained  under  the 
old.  Obscure  and  indefinite  hopes  had  been  entertained  of 
improvements  in  particular  localities,  which  would  result  in 
increased  accommodation  of  the  inhabitants,  and  encourage  both 
the  growth  and  enlargement  of  the  city.  But  when,  at  the  close 
of  the  city  year,  they  found  none,  or  but  few  of  these  fond  antici' 
pations  realized,  and  that  their  aifairs,-  though  conducted  with , 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  55 

great  care,  judgment,  and  fidelity,  had  received  no  new  impulse 
from  the  newly  invested  powers,  but  that  the  course  of  manage- 
ment had  deviated  but  little  from  that  they  had  experienced 
under  the  ancient  form  of  government,  the  disappointment  was, 
in  a  manner,  general,  and  began  to  be  expressed. 

The  Mayor  himself  was  not  insensible  to  this  state  of  feeling ; 
and  so  far  as  he  was  responsible  for  it,  the  cncumstances  in 
which  he  had  been  placed  explained  the  cause,  and  were  a  justi- 
fication of  the  com'se  of  his  administration.  Prudence,  caution, 
and  conservatism,  were  his  predominating  characteristics;  and, 
when  called  suddenly  to  a  station  he  had  not  anticipated,  he 
naturally  hesitated  to  venture  upon  changes,  of  which  the  de- 
vising was  critical  and  laborious,  and  the  result  uncertain.  These 
tendencies  of  his  mind  were  increased  and  strengthened  by  a  state 
of  health,  which  within  one  month  after  the  close  of  his  mayor- 
alty, terminated  his  life. 

Few  citizens  have  fulfilled  the  duties  of  the  respective  stations 
to  which  they  have  been  called  with  more  fidelity  than  Mr.  Phil- 
lips. The  evidence  of  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens  was 
continued  through  a  long  series  of  years.  He  had  for  more  than 
twenty-five  years  been,  without  an  omission,  elected  a  member 
of  one  of  the  branches  of  the  state  government,  and  for  ten  years 
had  been  uninterruptedly  chosen  President  of  the  Senate  of  the 
Commonwealth,  and  in  all  been  distinguished  for  acceptable  and 
efficient  service. 

The  tribute  paid  to  his  administration,  by  his  successor,  in  his 
inaugm-al  discourse,  it  is  proper  here  to  quote,  on  account  both 
of  its  truth  and  justice.  "After  examining,"  he  states,  "  and  con- 
sidering the  records  of  the  proceedings  of  the  city  authorities,  for 
the  past  year,  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  refrain  from  expressing 
the  sense  I  entertain  of  the  services  of  that  high  and  honorable 
individual  who  filled  the  Chair  of  this  city,  as  well  as  of  the  wise, 
prudent,  and  faithful  citizens  who  composed,  during  that  period, 
the  City  Council.  Their  labors  have  been,  indeed,  in  a  measure, 
unobtrusive ;  but  they  have  been  various,  useful,  and  well  con- 
sidered. They  have  laid  the  foundations  of  the  prosperity  of  our 
city  deep  and  on  right  principles.  And  whatever  success  may 
attend  those  who  come  after  them,  they  will  be  largely  indebted 
for  it  to  the  wisdom  and  fidelity  of  their  predecessors.  A  task 
was  committed  to  the  first  administration  to  perform,  in  no  com- 


56  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

mon  degree  arduous  and  delicate.  The  change  from  a  town 
to  a  city  had  not  been  effected  without  considerable  opposition. 
On  that  subject  many  fears  existed,  which  it  was  difficult  to 
allay,  many  jealousies  hard  to  overcome.  In  the  outset  of  a 
new  form  of  government,  among  variously  affected  passions  and 
interests,  and  among  indistinct  expectations,  impossible  to  realize, 
it  was  apparently  wise  to  shape  the  course  of  the  first  adminis- 
tration rather  by  the  spirit  of  the  long  experienced  constitution 
of  the  town,  than  by  that  of  the  unsettled  charter  of  the  city. 
It  was  natural  for  prudent  men,  first  intrusted  with  city  author- 
ities, to  apprehend  that  measures  partaking  of  the  mild,  domestic 
character  of  om*  ancient  institutions,  might  be  as  useful,  and 
would  be  likely  to  be  more  acceptable  than  those  which  should 
develop  the  entire  powers  of  the  new  government.  It  is  yet  to 
be  proved,  whether  in  these  measures  our  predecessors  were  not 
right.  In  all  times  the  inhabitants  of  this  metropolis  have  been 
distinguished  preeminently  for  a  free,  elastic,  repubfican  spirit. 
Heaven  grant  that  they  may  be  forever  thus  distinguished  I  It 
is  yet  to  be  decided,  whether  such  a  spirit  can,  for  the  sake  of 
the  peace,  order,  health,  and  convenience  of  a  great  and  rapidly 
increasing  population,  endure  without  distrust  and  discontent, 
the  application  of  necessary  city  powers  to  all  the  exigencies 
which  arise  in  such  a  community." 

Neither  the  inclination  nor  the  health  of  Mr.  Phillips  permitted 
him  to  become  a  candidate  for  a  second  election ;  and  his  with- 
drawal being  announced,  the  several  parties  into  which  the  city 
was  then  divided,  held,  as  is  usual  on  such  occasions,  then  assem- 
blies for  the  selection  of  his  successor.  A  committee  ^  of  the  depu- 
tation from  all  the  wards  of  the  city  soon  Avaited  upon  the 
individual  whom  they  had  agreed  upon,  and  who  was  finally 
elected  to  the  office  of  mayor,  and  distinctly  stated  to  him, 
that  the  municipal  affairs  of  the  city  had  become  a  subject  of 
more  than  common  solicitude,  and  that,  in  communicating  to 
him  his  selection,  by  a  large  meeting  of  citizens,  as  the  candidate 
for  that  office,  they  deemed  it  proper  to  express,  as  the  wishes 
and  expectations  of  that  assembly,  that  the  measures  of  the  ensu- 
ing administration  should  be  characterized  by  great  activity  and 
energy,  and  that  a  full  development  should  be  given  as  far  as 

^  Benjamin  Eussell,  Jonathan  Huunewell,  John  T.  Aptliorp. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  57 

possible  to  all  the  executive  powers  granted  by  the  charter.  To 
which  that  individual  replied,  that  should  the  suffrages  of  his 
fellow-citizens  result  in  his  election,  the  affairs  of  the  city  should 
be  guided,  so  far  as  his  influence  extended,  by  the  principles  and 
views  the  Committee,  in  their  behalf,  had  expressed.  ^ 

1  For  the  members  of  the  City  Council  from  1822  to  1830,  inclusive,  see 
Appendix,  M. 


CHAPTER   V. 

CITY   GOVERNJilEXT.     1823-1824. 

Jo  SI  AH    Qtji>'CY,   Mayor?- 

Organization  of  the  City  Government  —  Mayor's  Address  —  Importance  of  the 
Official  Responsibility  of  that  Officer  —  Difficulties  relative  to  the  Office  of 
Surveyors  of  Highways  —  Embarrassments  from  the  Board  of  Health  —  Dut)' 
of  Cleansing  the  Streets  devolved  on  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  and  how  exe- 
cuted —  Board  of  Health  discontinued,  and  their  Duties  transfen-ed  to  other 
Officers. 

The  municipal  authorities  of  the  City  of  Boston  were  organ- 
ized for  the  second  time  on  the  first  of  May,  1823,  in  conformity 
with  the  provisions  of  its  charter,  in  Faneuil  Hall,  in  the  presence 
of  a  large  concom'se  of  citizens.  After  a  prayer  by  the  E,ev. 
James  Freeman,  John  Phillips,  the  fhst  INIayor  of  Boston,  admin- 
istered, as  Justice  of  the  Peace,  the  oaths  of  office  to  his  suc- 
cessor. 

The  jMayor,  in  his  inaugural  address,  after  paying  a  due  tribute 
to  his  predecessor,^  deduced  the  spirit  of  the  city  charts  from  its 
language  and  the  exigencies  which  led  to  its  adoption,  and 
explained  his  views  of  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  office  of 
—Mayor,  and  the  prhiciples  by  which  he  should  endeavor  to  exe- 
cute and^-fulfil  them.  Among  the  defects  of  the  ancient  town 
organization,  was  the  division  of  the  executive  power  among 
several  independent  boards,  whereby  the  responsibility  of  the 
individual  members  of  each  was  lessened,  and  that  which  did 
exist  could  easily  be  transferred  from  one  board  to  another. 
The  general  superintendence  over  all  the  boards,  being  vested 

1  The  whole  number  of  votes  were  4,766  ;  of  which  Josiah  Quincy  had  2,505. 
The  Aldermen  elected  were,  —  David  W.  Child,  Ashur  Benjamin,  Enoch 

Patterson,  Joseph  H.  Dorr,  Stephen  Hooper,  Daniel  Baxter,  Caleb  Eddy,  and 
George  Odiorne. 

The  Common  Council  elected  John  "Welles  its  President,  and  Thomas  Clark  its 
Clerk.  The  City  Council  elected  Samuel  F.  McCleary  City  Clerk,  an  office 
which  he  now  holds,  and  has  held  by  successive  annual  elections  to  this  dav, 
(1851.) 

2  See  chap.  iv.  pp.  55,  56. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  59 

particularly  in  no  one,  the  important  duty  of  investij^ating  their 
relations  to  one  another,  and  their  adequacy  to  the  public  service, 
was  either  wholly  neglected,  or  performed  only  occasionally,  and 
in  a  very  irresponsible  manner.  To  remedy  these  defects,  the 
city  charter  enjoins  on  the  Mayor,  as  the  executive  officer,  the 
performance  of  these  duties,  invests  him  with  the  requisite 
powers,  and  thus  renders  him  responsible,  both  in  character  and 
station,  for  their  efficient  exercise  and  fuffilment ;  ample  secu- 
rity against  the  abuse  or  neglect  of  those  powers  being  provided 
for  in  the  constitutional  control  of  the  City  Council  and  the 
annual  elections  by  the  citizens.  With  these  general  views,  the 
Mayor  proceeded  to  state,  that  he  regarded  the  duties  of  the 
executive  officer,  as  resulting  from  the  provisions  of  the  charter, 
to  be  the  identifying  himself,  absolutely  and  exclusively  with  the 
character  and  interests  of  the  city,  studying  and  understanding 
all  its  rights,  whether  afiecting  property,  or  Kberty,  or  power,  and 
the  maintaining  them,  not  merely  with  the  zeal  of  official  sta- 
tion, but  with  the  pertinacious  spirit  of  private  interest.  Of  local, 
sectional,  party,  or  personal  divisions,  he  should  know  notMng, 
except  for  the  purpose  of  healing  the  wounds  they  inflict,  or  soft- 
ening the  animosities  they  excite.  The  honor,  happiness,  dig- 
nity, safety,  and  prosperity  of  the  city,  the  development  of  its 
resources,  its  expenditures,  and  police,  should  be  the  perpetual 
object  of  his  purpose,  and  labor  of  his  thought.  All  its  public 
institutions  should  be  the  subject  of  frequent  inspection;  and 
above  all,  its  schools  should  engage  his  utmost  solicitude  and 
unremitting  superintendence.  Anticipating  the  rival  projects, 
individual  interests,  personal  influences,  by  which  an  executive 
officer  would  be  beset  in  executing  the  police,  protecting  the 
rights,  and  promoting  the  prosperity  of  the  city,  and  that,  in  pro- 
portion to  his  firmness  and  inflexibility,  his  motives  and  princi- 
ples would  be  assailed,  the  Mayor  relied  with  confidence,  that  his 
faithful  endeavors  to  uphold  the  interests  of  the  city,  would 
receive  countenance  and  support  from  the  intelligence  and  vu-tue 
of  the  citizens.  In  relation  to  his  fulfilment  of  the  obligations 
resulting  from  the  city  charter,  he  promised  nothing  except  a 
laborious  fulfilment  of  every  known  duty,  a  prudent  exercise  of 
jvery  invested  power,  and  a  disposition  shrinking  from  no  official 
responsibility.^ 

1  See  Appendix  B. 


60  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

The  prominence  given  in  this  address  to  the  defects  of  the 
ancient  town  organization,  and  of  the  remedy  provided  for  them 
in  the  powers  of  the  Mayor,  was,  in  his  view,  made  necessary 
from  the  particular  circumstances  of  the  city  at  that  time,  and 
from  the  apprehension  that  the  changes  those  circumstances 
required,  might  be  the  occasion  of  jealousy  and  discontent. 

Five  distinct  Boards,  —  that  of  Health,  of  Surveyors  of  High- 
ways, of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  of  Firewards,  and  of  the 
School  Committee,— 7- then  exercised  powers,  of  which  some  were 
unequivocally  executive,  and  of  which  all  were,  under  the  city 
charter,  without  question,  properly  subject  to  the  general  super- 
vision of  the  Mayor.  All  these  Boards  were,  more  or  less,  iden- 
tified with  the  habits  and  prejudices  of  the  citizens ;  the  mem- 
bers of  many  of  them  had  been  long  in  office,  and  under  the 
town  form  of  government  had  enjoyed,  in  their  respective  spheres, 
unquestionable  authority.  Some  of  them  had  exercised  under 
the  same  name  the  same  powers,  from  very  distant,  and  others 
from  the  most  ancient  periods  of  the  existence  of  the  town. 
Each  had  proportions  of  efficient  power  and  local  influence, 
Each  friends,  by  whom,  and  circles,  within  which,  the  exercise 
of  its  particular  authorities  was  deemed  useful,  and  often  indis- 
pensable. "With  some,  emoluments  were  connected ;  and  with  all, 
the  pleasure  of  exercising  beneficial  authority  and  enjoying  use- 
ful distinction. 

By  the  provisions  of  the  city  charter,  the  members  of  some  of 
the  boards  continued  to  be  chosen  directly  by  the  citizens  ;  and 
thus  deriving  their  authority  immediately  from  the  people,  were 
disposed  to  consider  themselves  subject  to  very  limited  respon- 
sibility to  the  City  Council,  and  as  independent  of  the  authority 
of  the  Mayor.  They  were  reluctant  to  acknowledge  themselves 
subject  to  the  inspection  of  that  officer,  as  this  implied  they  were, 
in  the  language  of  the  city  charter,  "  subordinate  officers,"  which, 
from  a  natural  pride  of  place,  they  were  not  prepared  to  admit. 

The  relations  of  these  boards  to  the  city  government,  rendered 
the  duties  of  the  Mayor,  at  this  juncture,  peculiarly  difficult  and 
delicate.  This  division  of  executive  power  among  independent 
boards,  was  evidently  incompatible  with  its  efficient  exercise  and 
with  that  personal  responsibility  which  the  terms  of  the  city 
charter  had  devolved  upon  the  Mayor,  and  which  the  people  had 
been  led  to  expect  from  the  individual  who  might  hold  that  office.  | 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  61 

It  was  apparent,  also,  that  unless  the  powers  of  these  boards  were 
either  immediately  modified  or  abolished,  they  would  be  fixed 
upon  the  city,  with  pretensions  enlarging  with  time,  until  the 
inconvenience  resulting  from  them  should  become  insupportable. 
Yet  it  was  easy  to  foresee  that  an  attempt  to  abolish  institu- 
tions long  familiar  to  the  people,  and  with  which  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  associate  the  comfort,  health,  and  safety  of  their 
families  and  buildings,  would  expose  the  officer  who  should 
recommend  such  measures  to  suspicions  and  calumnies  tending 
to  affect,  if  not  destroy  his  influence  and  popularity.  After 
weighing  defiberately  all  the  duties  and  consequences,  the  Mayor 
decided  that  no  personal  considerations  ought  to  have  any  weight 
in  competition  with  the  obvious  'advantages  which  must  result 
to  the  city  from  the  removal  or  modification  of  boards,  behind 
which  a  weak,  a  cunning,  or  indolent  executive  officer  might  take 
refuge  to  hide  imbecifity  or  selfishness,  or  find  an  apology  for 
inefficiency. 

These  views  of  the  Mayor  were  founded  on  researches  and 
observations  relative  to  municipal  governments  in  Europe  and 
the  United  States.  Either  from  the  terms  of  their  charters,  or 
from  a  long  course  of  usage  and  precedents,  the  powers  exercised 
by  mayors  were  cMefly  judicial.  Their  executive  powers  were 
very  limited,  being  chiefly  exercised  through  the  medium  of 
boards  or  of  committees ;  the  mayors  being  deemed  little  more 
than  presiding  or  certifying  officers,  were  not  held  by  public  opi- 
nion more  responsible  than  other  members  of  the  board.  The 
power  and  practical  efficiency  of  this  officer  consequently  degene- 
rated, and  the  amount  of  supervision  and  labor  appHed  to  the  per- 
formance of  his  duties  depended  almost  whoUy  on  the  disposition 
of  the  incumbent.  As  the  importance  of  the  office  of  mayor  thus 
diminished,  the  qualities  essential  to  a  vigilant  and  efficient  exer- 
cise of  its  duties  were  apt  to  be  disregarded  by  the  community 
in  the  selection  of  candidates.  In  some  places,  party  spirit  gave 
the  office  away  to  its  favorite,  looking  only  to  his  political  faith, 
and  not  at  all  to  any  adaptation  of  his  talents  to  the  fulfilment 
of  its  duties.  In  others,  ambition  made  it  a  stepping-stone. 
Here,  charity  had  bestowed  it  on  a  needy,  popular  favorite, 
honest,  but  trembling  for  his  bread  at  every  critical  exercise  of 
his  authority.  There,  some  one  of  the  popular  classes,  into 
which  every  city  becomes  divided,  had  placed  the  head  of  the 

6 


62  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

class  at  the  head  of  the  city,  with  no  special  regard  to  qualifica- 
tion. 

To  postpone,  and  if  possible,  to  prevent  the  occurrence  of  such 
a  state  of  indifference  to  the  essential  quahties  of  the  executive 
officer  in  the  city  of  Boston,  the  Mayor  elect  deemed  it  his  chief 
ofiicial  duty  to  produce  and  fix  in  the  minds  of  all  the  influential 
classes  of  citizens  a  strong  conviction  of  the  advantage  of  having 
an  active  and  willingly  responsible  executive,  by  an  actual  expe- 
rience of  the  benefits  of  such  an  administration  of  their  affairs ; 
and  also  of  their  right  and  duty  of  holding  the  Mayor  responsible, 
in  character  and  office,  for  the  state  of  the  police  and  finances  of 
the  city. 

To  bring  the  responsibility  of  the  executive  officer  into  distinct 
relief  before  the  citizens,  was  accordingly  a  leading  principle,  by 
which  he  endeavored  to  regulate  his  conduct  in  that  office.  This 
purpose  he  avowed,  and  never  ceased  to  enforce^by  precept  and 
example,  during  his  administration  of  nearly  six  years.  And  the 
long  continuance  of  support  he  received  from  the  citizens,  suffi- 
ciently evidenced  that  his  views  were  in  accordance  with  those 
entertained  at  that  period  by  a  great  majority  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Boston. 

One  of  the  most  urgent  duties  enjoined  on  the  Mayor,  by  the 
city  charter,  was  attention  to  the  health,  security,  and  cleanliness 
of  the  city.  Immediately,  therefore,  after  the  organization  of  the 
city  government  was  completed,  in  May,  1823,  the  Mayor  recom- 
mended to  the  consideration  of  the  City  Council  the  state  of  the 
streets,  and  in  what  body  the  care  of  cleaning  them  was,  or 
ought  to  be  invested,  and  what  powers  and  authorities  are 
requhed  to  be  granted  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  them  clean ; 
and  also  the  consideration  of  the  measures  which  ought  to  be 
taken  to  put  the  House  of  Industry  into  effectual  operation. 

Each  of  these  recommendations  were  referred  to  joint  commit- 
tees in  Voth  branches  ;  ^  that  in  respect  of  the  streets  was  parti- 
cularly directed  to  inquire  in  whom  the  powers  and  duties  of 
surveyors  of  highways  were  invested. 

I  That  relative  to  the  streets,  to  the  Mayor  and  Alderman  Baxter ;  and  to 
Messrs.  Eliphalet  Williams,  Silsby,  Stodder,  Bates,  and  Dexter,  of  the  Common 
Council. 

That  relative  to  the  House  of  Industry,  to  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Odiorne  and  I 
Child ;  and  to  Messrs.  Davis,  J.  K.  Williams,  Baldwin,  Jackson,  and  Lincoln,  of 
the  Common  Council 


CITY  GOVERNIVIENT.  63 

The  relations  of  several  of  the  independent  boards,  which 
under  the  town  government  had  the  management  of  important 
branches  of  the  public  service,  were  left  by  the  city  charter,  either 
obscurely  defined  or  wholly  unprovided  for.  The  embarrassments 
arising  from  the  Surveyors  of  Highways  were  the  first  experi- 
enced, and  earliest  received  attention. 

Under  the  town  organization,  the  Board  of  Selectmen  had 
fulfilled  the  duties  of  the  Sm-veyors  of  Highways.  But  the  city 
charter  had  made  no  special  provision  for  the  election  of  these 
officers.  The  power  of  appointing  them  was  only  inferred  from 
the  general  authority  it  gave  to  the  City  Council  "  to  elect  all 
necessary  officers  for  the  good  government  of  the  city,  not  other- 
wise provided  for,"  and  under  this  clause  three  Surveyors  of  High- 
ways were  chosen  in  1822.  Inconveniences  arose  from  the  nature 
of  the  office  and  the  extent  of  its  powers,  which  the  citizens  had 
been  accustomed  to  have  exercised  by  the  whole  Board  of  Select- 
men, and  the  arrangement  by  which  they  were  transferred  to 
three  individuals,  dependent  on  the  City  Council,  was  unsatis- 
factory and  unpopular.  The  Mayor  and  Aldermen  were  regarded 
as  the  proper  successors  to  the  Selectmen,  with  respect  to  these 
powers,  but  the  right  of  the  City  Council  to  confer  them  on  a 
coordinate  branch  of  the  government  was  doubted.  During  the 
first  year  of  the  city,  the  subject  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
City  Council,  and  they  appointed  a  committee  upon  it  in  Octo- 
ber, 1822.  But  no  effectual  action  resulted.  In  the  mean  time, 
the  usual  difficulties  arising  from  authorities,  intimately  affecting 
the  rights  and  properties  of  citizens,  being  exercised  by  so  small 
a  body,  began  to  be  felt.  The  Surveyors  of  Highways  regarded 
themselves  in  the  light  of  an  independent  board.  Questions 
immediately  arose,  concerning  the  degree  of  control  the  Mayor 
and  Aldermen  had  a  right  to  exercise  in  relation  to  that  Board, 
and  the  powers  intrusted  by  law  to  it  under  the  city  charter. 

In  other-  respects,  the  state  of  the  several  authorities,  relative 
to  the  highways  and  streets,  were  found  embarrassing.  The 
gi'eat  objects  of  municipal  attention,  —  the  sti'eet  and  house  dirt 
and  the  night  soil,  and  the  modes  and  rules  for  their  removal, 
had,  under  the  town  government,  been  frequent  subjects  of  ques- 
tion, and  even  controversy,  and  early  began  to  appear  such  under 
that  of  the  city. 

The  Surveyors  of  Highways  claimed  one  species  of  jurisdic- 


64  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

tion  over  the  streets ;  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  another ;  the 
Board  of  Health  a  third.  In  consequence  of  the  obscurity  of  the 
limits  of  the  divisions  of  their  powers,  there  was  some  difficulty, 
and  occasionally  something  arbitrary  in  the  claims  and  proceed- 
ings touching  their  respective  jurisdictions.  Thus,  the  carrying 
away  of  the  street  dirt  was  admitted  to  be  within  the  power  of 
the  Selectmen,  and  now,  of  consequence,  of  the  Mayor  and  Alder- 
men, But  of  the  house  dirt,  the  Board  of  Health  claimed  the 
exclusive  jurisdiction,  and  denied  to  the  Selectmen,  and  also  to 
the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  the  right  of  intermeddling  on  that  sub- 
ject. What  was  house  dirt,  and  what  was  street  dirt,  and 
whether  yard  dirt  belonged  to  either,  and  to  which,  began  to  be 
questions  of  solemn  and  dividing  import.  The  first  year  of  the 
city  government  had  witnessed  a  curious  instance  of  the  supe- 
riority claimed  by  the  Board  of  Health  over  that  of  the  Mayor 
and  Aldermen,  and  of  the  conciliatory  temper^  with  which  the 
latter  Board  had  received  and  responded  to  that  claim. 

An  order  was  issued  by  the  Board  of  Health,  and  duly  served 
upon  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  in  the  following  words :  — 

"  To  the  Honorable  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  the  City :  — 

"  Gentlemen,  —  Complaint  has  been  made  at  this  office  that  there  is  col- 
lected in  the  corner,  on  the  westerly  side  of  the  T  l  and  next  to  the  Long  Wharf, 
a  quantity  of  filthy,  putrid,  and  nauseous  substances  on  the  premises  belonging 
to  you,  or  under  your  direction,  and  is  a  nuisance.  You  will,  therefore,  ajDpear 
before  this  Board  on  Monday,  the  seventeenth  instant,  and  show  cause,  if  any 
exist,  why  the  City  of  Boston  should  not  remove  the  same  and  cut  through  said 
T  an  opening  next  to  the  Long  Wharf,  twenty-four  feet  wide  in  the  clear,  and 
eight  feet  deep  on  a  level  with  the  lowest  part  of  the  flats,  on  the  easterly  side  of 
said  T,  for  the  free  passage  of  the  tide  waters. 

"  By  order  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Health. 

"  John  Winslow,  Secretary. 

"4  June,  1822." 

This  order  was  read  in  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  on  the 
twenty -fourth  of  June  a  report  was  made  "that  they  do  not 
think  the  city  ought  to  pay  any  part  of  the  expense,  excepting 
that  for  removing  nuisances."  This  report  was  accepted,  and  no 
notice  taken  either  of  the  nature  of  the  claim  of  jmisdiction  or 
of  the  manner  of  enforcing  it. 

Similar  clashing  of  authority  or  of  opinion  occurred  between 
the  Surveyors  of  Highways  and  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  although 

1  A  wharf  so  called. 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  Go 

not  enforced  by  any  like  tone  and  official  process.  The  state  of 
uncertainty,  in  respect  of  the  body,  in  which  both  the  care  of  the 
highways  and  that  of  cleansing  the  streets  was  left  by  the  char- 
ter of  the  city,  led  the  Mayor,  at  the  commencement  of  this  city 
year,  to  regard  a  settlement  of  those  questions  as  the  most  im- 
portant and  urgent  in  their  nature.  With  respect  to  the  Sm*- 
veyors  of  Higlnvays,  the  change  proposed  could  not  be  effected 
without  an  appeal  to  the  great  body  of  citizens.  A  general 
meeting  of  all  the  inhabitants,  therefore,  was  called  on  the 
fifteenth  of  May,  1823,  on  the  subject  of  appointing  the  Board 
of  Aldermen  surveyors  of  highways.  The  change  proposed 
readily  received  their  sanction ;  and  the  Legislature  of  the  State, 
on  the  eleventh  of  June  ensuing,  passed  an  act  in  conformity 
with  the  vote  of  the  citizens,  and  on  the  eighteenth  of  the  same 
month,  the  City  Council  elected  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  Sur- 
veyors of  Highways. 

In  pursuance  of  this  authority,  this  Board  immediately  divided 
the  city  into  four  districts,  each  including  three  wards,  and 
appointed  two  aldermen  superintendents  of  each  district,  by 
whom  the  powers  thus  invested  were  subsequently  exercised 
without  question,  and  to  the  general  satisfaction  of  the  citi- 
zens. 

No  subject  had  been  pressed  upon  the  Mayor  with  more  ear- 
nestness, by  private  citizens,  than  the  state  of  the  streets  and  the 
importance  of  adopting  systematic  plans  for  effectually  removing , 
the  various  accumulations  and  nuisances  in  them,  which  are  inci- 
dent to  a  populous  city.  Anticipating,  however,  that  the  scale 
which  it  would  be  necessary  to  adopt,  in  order  thoroughly  to 
effect  this  object,  would  lead  to  a  pecuniary  expenditm-e,  so  far 
exceeding  any  thing  the  citizens  had  experienced  under  the  town 
government,  the  Mayor  had,  in  his  inaugural  address,  endeavored 
to  conciliate  their  minds,  by  thus  stating  the  general  views  he 
entertained  on  the  powders  intrusted  to  the  executive  authority  on 
this  subject:  —  "If  the  powers  vested  seem  too  gi-eat,  let  it  be 
remembered  that  they  are  necessary  to  attain  the  great  objects  of 
a  city,  —  health,  comfort,  and  safety.  To  those  whose  fortunes 
are  restricted,  these  powers  ought  to  be  peculiarly  precious.  The 
rich  can  fly  from  the  generated  pestilence.  In  the  season  of  dan- 
ger the  sons  of  fortune  can  seek  refuge  in  purer  atmospheres.  But 
necessiti/  condemns  the  poor  to  remain  and  inhale  the  noxious  efflu- 
6* 


66  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

via.  To  all  classes  who  reside  permanently  in  a  citi/,  these  powers 
are  a  privilege  and  a  blessing:  In  relation  to  the  city  police^  it 
is  not  sufficient  that  the  laiv,  in  its  due  process,  ivill  ultimately 
■remedy  every  injury  and  remove  every  nuisance.  Wliile  the  law 
delays,  the  injury  is  done.  While  judges  are  doubting,  and  law- 
yers debating,  the  nuisance  is  exhaling,  and  the  atmosphere  cor- 
rupting. In  these  cases,  prevention  should  be  the  object  of  soli- 
citude, not  remedy.  It  is  not  enough  that  the  obstacle  which  im- 
pedes the  citizen's  ivay,  or  the  nuisance  which  offends  his  sense, 
should  be  removed  on  complaint,  or  by  complaint.  TJie  true  crite- 
rion of  an  efficient  government  is,  that  it  should  be  removed  before 
complaint,  and  luithout  complaint.^^ 

On  examining  the  powers  of  the  city,  relative  to  these  subjects, 
the  Mayor  found  that  the  most  important  were  claimed  and  exer- 
cised by  Commissioners,  called  the  Board  of  Health.  They  had 
gradually  extended  their  jurisdiction  to  all  subjects,  which  could, 
by  any  fair  construction,  be  brought  within  the  terms  of  the 
legislative  acts  instituting  their  authority.  In  respect  of  these 
powers,  they  had  acknowledged  no  subordination  to  the  Select- 
men of  the  town.  Collisions  had  occasionally  arisen  between 
them,  relative  to  the  removal  of  nuisances,  which  had  generally 
terminated  in  favor  of  the  Board  of  Health ;  and  they  conse- 
quently claimed  and  exercised,  at  the  time  the  city  government 
was  formed,  jurisdiction  over  all  subjects  which  could  be  compre- 
hended under  the  terms  "causes  of  sickness,  nuisances,  and 
sources  of  filth,  injurious  to  the  health  of  the  inhabitants."  The 
dirt  collecting  on  the  surface  of  the  streets,  being  considered  a 
nuisance,  rather  in  respect  of  sight,  smeU,  or  convenience,  than  of 
health,  wks  admitted  by  those  commissioners  to  be  within  the 
jm-isdiction  of  the  Selectmen. 

By  the  city  charter,  the  powers  and  authorities  vested  by  law 
in  the  Board  of  Health  were  transferred  to  the  City  Council,  "  to 
be  carried  into  execution  by  the  appointment  of  health  commis- 
sioners, or  in  such  other  manner  as  the  health,  cleanliness,  com- 
fort, and  order  of  the  said  city  may  in  their  judgment  require." 
These  commissioners,  therefore,  now  held  then  places,  not  as 
formerly,  immediately  from  the  people,  but  by  their  election  by 
the  City  Council,  and  the  continued  existence  of  that  board 
depended  on  its  will.  Notwithstanding  this  change  in  their 
public  relations,  these  commissioners '  claimed  and  exercised  as . 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  67 

broad  and  independent  a  jurisdiction  during  the  first  year  of  the 
city  government,  as  they  had  done  under  that  of  the  town.  An 
instance  of  their  pretensions  has  just  been  noticed.^ 

Soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  second  administration 
of  the  city  government,  (in  1823,)  the  Mayor  perceived  that,  so 
long  as  this  state  of  things  continued,  he  could  not  exercise  that 
general  superintendence  of  this  important  subject  which  the 
city  charter  had  made  his  duty,  without  troublesome  and  unpro- 
fitable collisions.  His  powers  of  inspection  were  restricted  to 
"subordinate  officers;"  a  relation  which  the  members  of  that 
board  were  not  prepared  to  admit,  as  applicable  to  them,  so  long 
as  they  acted  under  the  forms  and  principles  which  had  been 
established  by  vu-tue  of  the  several  acts  forming  the  ancient 
constitution  of  that  board.  In  his  opinion,"  there  was  no  de- 
partment of  police  for  which  the  chief  executive  officer  of  a  city 
ought  to  be  made  more  strictly  responsible,  than  for  that  on 
which  the  comfort  and  health  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  de- 
pended. The  existence  of  an  ancient  board,  accustomed  to 
exercise  exclusive  jurisdiction,  and  yet  claiming  a  qualified,  if 
not  an  absolute  authority  over  the  subject,  would  render  it 
easy  for  a  weak,  an  indolent,  or  a  cunning  executive  to  evade 
that  responsibility,  and  yet  neglect  his  most  imperative  official 
duties. 

To  prepare  the  public  mind  for  a  new  arrangement  of  these 
powers,  the  Mayor,  on  the  day  of  his  inauguration,  formally 
recommended  the  subject  to  the  notice  of  the  City  Council,  as 
already  stated ;  and  a  joint  committee  having  been  appointed, 
they  reported,  that  "  the  care  of  cleaning  the  surface  of  the  city 
was,  by  force  of  the  terms  of  the  city  charter,  vested  in  the  Mayor 
and  Aldermen  ;  but  that  the  docks,  night  soil,  and  house  dirt  was 
considered  as  belonging  to  the  Board  of  Health,  until  the  farther 
order  of  the  City  Council."  In  this  construction  the  City  Council 
found  that'  the  members  of  that  board  would  acquiesce;  and, 
being  desirous  to  avoid,  or,  at  least  to  postpone,  all  questions 
which  might  create  collisions,  they  confined  then-  attention,  in  the 
first  instance,  to  the  surface  of  the  city,  including  its  streets, 
courts,  and  yards. 

From  inquiries  into  the  antecedent  practice  of  the  town  and 

1  See  page  64. 


68  MUXICll'.VL  mSTOEY. 

city,  it  was  ascertained  that  no  general,  regular  system  for  cleans- 
ing the  streets  had  ever  been  adopted  or  executed.  All  opera- 
tions had  been  occasional  and  local,  the  result  of  some  particular, 
urgent  necessity.  Nor  was  it  found  that  expenses  for  such  an 
object  had  ever,  in  one  year,  exceeded  one  thousand  dollars. 

The  Board  of  Aldermen  and  Common  Council  entirely  con-, 
curring  with  the  views  entertained  by  the  Mayor  on  this  subject, 
it  was  determined  at  once  to  incur  the  expense  of  a  genereJ 
and  thorough  cleansing  of  the  city.  The  result,  it  was  antici- 
pated, would  so  convince  the  citizens  of  the  benefit,  and  so  habitu- 
ate them  to  the  comfort  of  the  cleanliness  of  the  city,  that  it  would 
be  impossible  for  any  executive  to  be  negligent  in  this  respect, 
and  long  retain  his  influence  and  office.  To  the  end  that  the 
advantage  of  the  proposed  operations  might  be  felt  by  all  the 
citizens,  it  was  determined  to  carry  them  into  effect,  in  every 
street,  alley,  court,  and  household  yard,  however  distant,  and 
however  obscure. 

For  this  purpose,  the  city  was  divided  into  four  districts,  each 
composed  of  three  wards;  and  the  Board  of  Aldermen  into 
committees,  each  composed  of  tw^o  members ;  the  superintend- 
ence of  the  cleansing  of  one  district  being  assigned  to  each  com- 
mittee. For  the  first  time,  on  any  general  scale  destined  for 
universal  application,  the  broom  was  used  upon  the  streets.  On 
seeing  this  novel  spectacle,  of  files  of  sweepers,  an  old  and 
common  adage  was  often  applied  to  the  new  administration  of 
city  affairs ;  in  good  humor  by  some,  in  a  sarcastic  spirit  by 
others. 

In  the  course  of  a  month,  the  proposed  operation  was  com- 
pleted, to  the  very  general,  if  not  the  universal  approbation  of  the 
citizens.  More  than  three  thousand  tons  of  dirt  were  removed 
from  the  surface  of  the  city,  at  a  cost  of  about  foiu^een  hun- 
dred dollars ;  and  in  the  first  month  of  this  administration,  nearly 
double  the  sum  was  asserted  to  have  been  thus  expended  than 
had  ever  before  been  voted,  in  any  one  year,  to  a  similar  object, 
since  the  settlement  of  Boston.  The  comfort  and  pride  of  city 
cleanliness  was  thus  brought  home  to  the  door  and  the  feelings 
of  every  inhabitant,  and,  for  the  time,  no  language  was  publicly 
heard  but  that  of  approbation ;  yet,  subsequently,  this  expense 
constituted  one  element  of  clamor,  which  party  spirit  did  not  fail 
to  remember,  when  the  charge  of  extraS-agance  and  the  terrors  of 


CITY  GOTERX^IEXT.  69 

a  city  debt  were  brought  to  bear  upon  the  popularity  of  the 
administration. 

The  next  important  question  on  this  subject  was,  the  manner 
in  which  the  streets  should  be  hereafter  cleansed.  The  old  prac- 
tice was  to  depend  upon  the  interests  of  the  farmers  in  the  \-ici- 
nity,  who  came  when  they  pleased,  took  what  they  pleased, 
in  The  manner  they  pleased.  The  comparative  advantage  and 
economy  of  eifecting  this  object  by  contract,  or  by  teams  and 
laborers,  p^o^*ided  and  employed  by  the  city,  became  a  subject 
of  serious  debate  and  deliberation.  There  were  no  data  on 
which  the  principles  of  a  contract  could  be  based  and  safely 
adjusted.  Neither  the  value  of  the  sweepings,  as  manure,  nor 
the  quantity  which  could  annually  be  taken  from  the  surface  of 
the  cit^-,  could  be  ascertained.  To  attain  the  information  the 
case  required,  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  advertised  for  contracts 
for  the  work.  Among  the  proposals  consequently  made,  only  one 
embraced  all  the  operations  of  scraping,  sweeping,  and  carrying 
away,  and  including  an  offer  to  do  the  whole  work  for  seven  thou- 
sand dollars.  AM  the  other  proposals  expressly  declined  ha^-ing 
any  thing  to  do  with  scraping  and  sweeping  the  streets,  and  con- 
fined their  offer  exclusively  to  carr\ing  the  dirt  away.  The 
lowest  of  these  proposals  was  eighteen  hundred  dollars  for  the 
year.  AU  of  them  were  rejected ;  and  it  was  decided  that  the 
cit\-  should  perform  all  the  operations  by  its  own  teams  and 
laborers,  and  on  its  o^ti  account.  This  determination  being 
known,  the  same  persons  fell  in  their  demands,  fro)}i  eighteen  to 
eight  hundred  dollars.  This  being  rejected,  they  offered  to  do  it 
for  nothing.  Even  these  proposals  were  rejected;  the  Mayor 
and  Aldenuen  being  of  opinion  that  the  interest  of  the  city 
required  that  this  work  should  be  done  thoroughly,  and  that  the 
cheapest  was  not  the  best,  or  even  the  most  economical  mode 
of  conducting  such  operations ;  it  being,  in  their  judgment,  im- 
possible to  do  it  satisfactorily  for  any  length  of  time  by  contract. 
All  the  contractors  were  farmers  in  the  vicinity,  whose  object  it 
was  to  obtain  manure  for  their  lands,  and  whose  performance 
would  be  limited  by  that  interest.  Whatever  was  worthless  as 
a  manure  would  be  left.  During  the  months  of  Jidy  and  August, 
when  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  citizens  required  that  the 
work  should  be  most  thoroughly  performed,  it  being  the  busiest 
season  of  the  year  to  the  farmer,  the  work  in  the  city  would  be 
neglected. 


70  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

There  were  also  other  occasional  wants  of  the  city,  which 
rendered  the  possession  of  teams  and  laborers  of  its  own  highly 
expedient  and  economical.  The  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  there- 
fore, resolved  to  take  the  care  of  the  streets  into  their  own  hands ; 
and,  having  obtained  authority  from  the  City  Council,  proceeded 
to  purchase  carts  and  horses  and  to  hire  men,  at  the  cost  and  on 
the  account  of  the  city. 

The  expediency  of  this  measure  was  tested  by  keeping  accu- 
rate accounts,  during  the  two  first  years,  of  the  work  done,  the 
expenses  incurred,  and  the  incomes  obtained;  and  the  experi- 
ment resulted  in  a  perfect  conviction,  that  this  was  not  only  tb 
most  economical,  but  the  only  effectual  mode,  to  relieve  tb 
citizens  from  the  nuisances  incident  to  streets.  The  responsi- 
bihty  was  thus  devolved  upon  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen.  If  an; 
cause  of  complaint  occurred,  they  could  not  throw  the  blame  o: 
upon  contractors.  As  had  been  anticipated,-great  convenience 
and  economy  resulted  from  having  horses  and  teams  always  a' 
command,  and  ready  to  be  applied  to  any  sudden  exigency  whic 
might  occur.  Exclusive  of  the  first  general  sweeping,  the  ex' 
penses  of  cleaning  the  streets,  alleys,  and  courts  of  the  cit; 
amounted,  the  first  year  of  the  experiment,  to  three  thousand 
and  eight  hundred  dollars.  After  deducting,  at  the  end  of  the 
year,  the  value  of  the  teams  owned  by  the  city,  and  also  the  value 
of  the  city  work  done  by  them,  not  connected  with  the  streets,  | 
it  was  found  that  twenty-eight  hundred  tons  of  manure  had  been 
collected,  and  used  on  the  city  lands,  and  at  the  city  farm  at  the 
House  of  Industry,  the  value  of  which  was  deemed  a  full  equi- 
valent for  the  whole  cost  of  the  operation. 

On  the  succeeding  year,  the  cost  of  this  process  was  about 
six  thousand  dollars;  from  the  sales  of  the  manure  collected 
two  thousand  dollars  were  received.  Fifteen  hundred  tons  of 
manure,  valued  at  a  thousand  dollars,  had  been  sent  to  the  city 
farm  at  the  House  of  Industry ;  and  the  work  done  for  the  city 
by  the  teams  and  laborers,  exclusive  of  that  on  the  streets,  was 
estimated  to  be  worth  two  thousand  dollars ;  and  the  teams  on 
hand  at  the  end  of  the  year  were  estimated  at  the  value  of  si: 
hundred  dollars.  From  these  general  estimates,  it  was  eviden 
that  no  general  mode  of  removing  street  dirt,  an  operation  so 
essential  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  citizens,  could  possiblj 
combine  an  equal  degree  of  convenience  and  economy;    and 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  71 

during  the  subsequent  years  of  this  administration,  its  expediency 
was  never  authoritatively  questioned.^ 

In  all  these  an-angements,  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  had  the 
benefit  of  the  practical  skill  and  business  talents  of  Enoch  Pat- 
terson and  Caleb  Eddy,  members  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  to 
whose  intelligence,  activity,  and  judgment  the  city  of  Boston  is 
greatly  indebted  for  the  degree  of  success  which,  in  the  course 
of  this  and  the  ensuing  year,  was  attained  in  this  and  other 
branches  of  the  police  services  of  the  city. 

The  experience  of  this  year  of  the  city  government  had  satis- 
fied the  Mayor  and  City  Council  that  the  whole  subject,  relative 
to  filth  and  nuisances  affecting  the  comfort  and  health  of  the 
citizens,  ought  to  be  taken  under  their  direct  control,  and  could 
be  better  managed  by  a  single  health  commissioner  than  by  an 
independent  board.  The  satisfactory  result  of  the  measures 
adopted  in  relation  to  cleaning  the  sm-face  of  the  city,  led  to  the 
determination  that  the  remaining  objects,  such  as  the  docks, 
night  soil,  and  house  dirt,  should  be  placed  under  lilte  conti'ol. 
To  prepare  the  way  for  this  change,  a  Committee  of  the  City 
Council,  of  which  the  Mayor  was  chau'man,  made  a  report  early 
in  February,  1824,  —  that  the  Board  of  Health,  in  executing  the 
arrangements  relative  to  the  internal  health  regulations,  had 
effected  the  same  by  conti'act,  and  paid  that  year  nearly  three 
thousand  dollars  for  these  objects ;  that  in  respect  of  house  dirt 
the  contractors  were  often  remiss ;  that  recurrence  to  the  penalty, 
although  it  might  punish  them,  did  not  effect  the  chief  object  in 
this  concern,  —  the  certain  convenience  of  the  citizens.  Living 
lin  the  country,  they  came  in  heavy  ox  wagons;  were  a  long 


1  1st.  The  work  is  done  thorouglily  and  satisfaetoiily  to  every  inhabitant,  in 
levery  lane,  alley,  and  court.  2d.  It  is  done  responsibly.  If  it  is  not  so  done,  the 
Iblame  falls  whez-e  it  ought  to  fall,  on  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  ;  they  cannot 
ithrow  it  off  on  contractors.  3d.  There  is  great  convenience,  and  often  great 
economy,  in  having  teams  and  horses  at  command.  The  amount  of  this  con- 
venience is  great,  but  difficult  to  estimate.  To  the  Execvitive  Board,  practically 
speaking,  the  trouble  is  nothing  in  comparison  with  the  gratification  they  derive, 
fii'om  seeing  the  streets  cleansed  of  all  offensive  substances,  and  a  population  satis- 
fied with  its  condition  in  this  respect. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  1826,  an  ordinance  was  passed  by  the  City  Council, 
prohibiting  the  removal  through  the  streets,  &c.  of  Boston  any  house  dirt,  house 
offal,  or  refuse  substance,  animal  or  vegetable,  unless  Hcensed  by  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen,  on  such  conditions  as  they  should  prescribe.  This  was  unaccount- 
ably omitted  to  be  published  among  the  ordinances  in  the  edition  of  1827,  but 
was  inserted  in  subsequent  editions  of  those  ordinances. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.    1823-1824. 

JosiAH  QuiNCT,  Mayor. 

Inconvenient  State  of  Eaneuil  Hall  Market  —  Difficulties  attending  its  Exten- 
sion —  Measures  taken  for  surmounting  them  —  Invitation  to  the  Proprietors 
of  the  Land  in  the  Vicinity  to  become  Associates  in  the  Improvement  — 
Not  accepted  by  them  —  The  Project  approved  by  the  Citizens  in  a  General 
Meeting  —  Authority  obtained  from  the  Legislature  —  Purchase  of  the  Estates 
commenced. 

The  enlargement  of  the  market  under  and  in  J;he  vicinity  of 
Faneuil  Hall  was  one  of  the  first  objects  to  which  the  attention 
of  the  second  administration  of  the  city  government  was  di- 
rected. The  labors  and  responsibilities  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and 
Common  Council  incm-red  in  accomplishing  this  great  improve- 
ment, the  extent  of  their  operations,  and  the  extraordinary 
financial  results,  are  probably  without  a  parallel  in  the  history 
of  any  other  city.  A  granite  market  house,  two  stories  high, 
five  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet  long,  fifty  feet  wide,  covering 
twenty-seven  thousand  feet  of  land,  including  every  essential 
accommodation,  was  erected,  at  the  cost  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars.  Six  new  streets  were  opened,  and  a 
seventh  greatly  enlarged,  including  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
thousand  square  feet  of  land;  and  flats,  docks,  and  wharf 
rights  obtained,  of  the  extent  of  one  hundred  and  forty-two 
thousand  square  feet.  All  this  was  accomplished  in  the  centre 
of  a  populous  city,  not  only  without  any  tax,  debt,  or  burden 
upon  its  pecuniary  resources,  —  notwithstanding,  in  the  course  of 
the  operations,  funds  to  the  amount  of  upwards  of  eleven  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars  had  been  employed,  —  but  with  large  per- 
manent additions  to  its  real  and  productive  property.  The  pro- 
prietors of  land  in  the  north  section  of  the  city  were  also  enabled 
by  this  improvement  to  open  Fulton  and  Commercial  Streets, 
thus  greatly  enlarging  mercantile  accommodations,  facilitating 
intercourse  with  the  great  southern  wharves,  and  creating  oppor- 


CITY  GOVEENMENT.  75 

tunities  for  the  foundation  of  those  noble  blocks  of  granite  stores, 
which  have  since  been  erected  to  the  eastward  of  those  streets. 

It  is  due  to  the  men  who  constituted  the  city  councils  at  that 
day,  whose  intelligence  devised,  and  whose  energy  effected  these 
great  results,  and  also  to  the  spirit  of  the  citizens,  whose  votes 
sustained  and  encouraged  them,  through  good  report  and  evil 
report,  that  the  difficulties  with  which  they  had  to  struggle,  and 
the  course  of  measures  by  which  they  were  surmounted  and 
success  ultimately  obtained,  should  be  permanently  recorded,  as 
an  honor  to  the  past  and  an  example  to  the  future. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  second  city  year,  the  whole 
space  occupied  by  stalls  in  Faneuil  Hall  market  did  not  exceed 
fourteen  thousand  square  feet.  Even  the  best  of  these  were 
inconvenient,  and  the  passages  to  them  obstructed.  The  dealers 
in  fish  and  vegetables  occupied  a  wooden  shed,  without  glass 
windows,  and  without  doors.  Their  consequent  exposure  to  the 
inclemency  of  the  winter  storms  caused  premature  sickness  and 
death.  It  was  calculated  that  twenty  years  changed  the  whole 
number  of  the  individuals  there  employed.  The  space  around 
Faneuil  Hall,  devoted  to  the  market,  was  broken,  in  its  centre, 
by  Odin's  Buildings,  as  they  were  then  called,  and  was  bounded 
to  the  eastward  by  the  Roebuck  Passage  and  the  Town  Dock. 
The  central  common  sewer  of  the  city  opened  into  the  head  of 
this  dock,  which  was  also  a  station  for  oyster  boats,  and  became 
consequently  a  receptacle  for  every  species  of  filth,  and  a  public 
nuisance.  All  the  buildings  on  the  north  side  of  the  Town 
Dock  were  old,  and  for  the  most  part  inhabited  by  a  very  trou- 
blesome and  irregular  population.  It  was  impossible  to  intro- 
duce order  and  systematic  aiTangement  into  a  market  so  ex- 
tremely deficient  in  local  accommodation.  The  avenues  leading 
to  it  were  in  general  narrow  and  crooked,  especially  the  Roebuck 
Passage,  the  shortest  and  most  frequented  thoroughfare,  between 
the  northern  section  of  the  city  and  this  central  market  and  the 
wharves  in  the  middle  and  southern  sections.  Li  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  feet  it  had  three  bends,  and  its  width  varied  from  thnteen 
to  twenty  feet.  Serious  accidents  had  occmTed  within  this  incon- 
venient passage.  One  child  had  recently  been  killed,  another  had 
been  mutilated,  and  almost  every  year  petitions  had  been  pre- 
sented to  the  town  authorities  for  its  enlargement,  but  without 
effect.    On  high  market  days,  Union,  Elm,  Brattle,  Washington, 


76  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

and  Exchange  Streets  were  often  completely  obstructed.  Farmers 
coming  from  a  great  distance  in  the  country,  were  compelled  to 
take  their  stand  along  Union  Street,  as  far  as  Marshall's  Lane, 
and  in  Washington  Street,  as  far  as  Court  Street.  They  were 
thus  excluded  from  the  space  around  Faneuil  Hall,  where  their 
customers  chiefly  resorted,  and  were  often  obliged  to  sell  their 
goods  to  forestallers,  greatly  to  their  loss  and  discontent.  Fore- 
stalling became,  consequently,  not  only  a  lucrative  but  an 
acknowledged  employment.  Individuals  engaged  in  it,  when 
prosecuted,  were  seldoin  convicted  by  juries,  since,  from  the 
many  obstructions,  arising  from  the  local  inadequacy  of  the 
market,  to  all  fau'  competition,  forestalling  seemed  to  be  indis- 
pensable for  the  interests  both  of  the  farmer  and  the  citizens. 
Such  were  the  general  relations  and  accommodations  of  the 
central  market  of  the  city,  at  the  commencement  of  the  second 
administration ;  and  the  Mayor,  in  the  first  month  after  his 
inauguration,  having  consulted  with  the  Board 'of  Aldermen, 
decided  that  the  exertions  of  the  city  government  would  be  most 
usefully  du-ected  to  ameliorate  its  condition.  The  general  and 
financial  prosperity  of  the  city  were  favorable  to  the  undertaldng. 
The  support  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Long  Wharf,  and  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  northern  parts  of  the  city,  were  confidently 
anticipated,  since  the  value  of  their  estates  would  be  enhanced 
should  the  project  succeed,  by  the  formation  of  new  streets  and 
more  commodious  water  rights,  and  by  the  opening  of  the  Roe- 
buck Passage. 

These  powerful  interests  and  propitious  circumstances  induced 
the  Mayor  imrhediately  to  refer  the  subject  of  the  improvement 
of  the  central  market  to  a  committee  of  both  branches  of  the 
Cit^  Council,  of  which  he  was  chairman.  But,  so  little  was  the 
public  mind  prepared  for  the  extensive  plan  contemplated,  that 
this  Committee  could  only  be  induced  to  assent  to  a  report  for 
the  erection  of  a  large  vegetable  market,  thirty-sLx  feet  wide, 
one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  long,  on  the  north  side  of  Faneuil 
Hall,  which,  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  June,  was  accepted  in  both 
branches,  and  fifteen  thousand  doUars  were  appropriated  for  its 
completion.  Those  who  concurred  in  the  original  project  were 
not  discouraged  by  the  opposition  thus  evinced,  and,  while  the 
report  was  in  discussion,  the  Mayor  took  measures,  personally, 
to  ascertain  the  prices  at  which  the  estates  comprehended  witliin 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  77 

the  plan  first  conceived  could  be  obtained.  Some  of  the  princi- 
pal proprietors  refused  to  sell  their  estates  at  any  price,  and  the 
demands  of  others  were  extravagant.  But  it  was  evidently  for 
the  interest  of  them  all  that  the  plan  contemplated  should  suc- 
ceed, and  not  be  defeated,  or  postponed,  by  the  erection  of  the 
vegetable  market.  No  obstruction  was  therefore  made  to  the 
acceptance  of  that  report ;  but  it  was  used  as  an  argument,  to 
influence  those  proprietors  to  be  more  moderate  in  their  demands. 
The  policy  had  the  effect  anticipated.  The  appropriation  was 
therefore  left  untouched  and  uncalled  for ;  and,  on  the  thirty -first 
of  July,  1823,  the  Mayor  communicated  to  the  City  Council  his 
views  concerning  the  improvement  contemplated,  by  a  special 
message,  stating  the  inconveniences  of  the  existing  market;  the 
relief  which  enlarged  accommodation  and  consequent  competi- 
tion would  confer,  by  reduced  prices  of  provisions,  on  the  poorer 
classes ;  the  circumstances  favorable  to  advantageous  purchases ; 
and  the  necessity  of  obtaining  a  power  to  borrow  the  sums 
requisite  for  the  object.  The  appointment  of  a  committee  to 
take  the  subject  into  consideration  was  recommended,  and  the 
Mayor,  Aldermen  Benjamin  and  Patterson,  and  Messrs.  E.  Wil- 
liams, Stoddard,  Silsby,  and  Winslow,  of  the  Common  Council, 
were  appointed. 

It  was  now  thought  advisable  to  postpone  further  proceedings, 
until  the  final  terms  of  the  proprietors  of  the  land  embraced 
within  the  proposed  sphere  of  improvement  should  be  ascer- 
tained, and  such  conditional  contracts  from  them  be  obtained, 
as  should  prevent  any  one  of  them  falling  back  from  his  engage- 
ments, after  the  city  should  determine  to  proceed  with  the  pro- 
ject. The  Mayor  charged  himself  with  this  undertaking;  and, 
during  the  months  of  August,  September,  October,  and  Novem- 
ber, he  was  occupied,  during  his  leisure  from  other  duties,  in 
obtaining  plans,  forming  an  acquaintance  with  the  interests,  and 
negotiating  with  the  proprietors.  The  original  scheme  embraced 
air  the  land  between  Ann  Street  and  the  Mill  Creek  on  the  one 
side,  and  Butler's  Row  on  the  other,  limited  on  the  west  by  the 
estates  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Roebuck  Passage  and  of 
Merchants'  Row,  and  extending  as  far  to  the  east  as  the  flats 
might  reach,  which  the  city,  by  pm-chasing  the  proposed  estates 
in  the  progress  of  the  improvement,  might  be  able  to  attain. 
It  was  found  that,  as  valued  by  the  proprietors,  eight  hundred 


78  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

thousand  dollars  was  the  lowest  sum  for  which  the  whole  of 
that  property  could  be  obtained.  As  the  advantages  of  so  ex- 
tensive an  improvement  were  difficult  to  be  made  apparent  to 
the  citizens  in  general,  among  whom  there  was  an  instinctive 
and  prevailing  dread  of  a  city  debt,  the  Committee  postponed 
the  attempt  to  carry  into  ejGfect  their  original  project,  and  for  the 
present,  apparently  restricted  their  operations  to  the  space  be- 
tween Ann  Street  and  the  street  leading  to  Bray's  Wharf,  which 
included  about  thirty  estates,  owned  by  about  an  equal  num- 
ber of  proprietors,  and  "comprising,  according  to  the  estimates 
then  made,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  thousand  square 
feet  of  gTound,  inclusive  of  the  docks  and  passage-ways,  and 
exclusive  of  the  flats  in  front  of  the  wharves.  With  two  or 
three  exceptions,  all  the  proprietors  demanded  prices  at  that  time 
generally  deemed  extravagant,  but  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Committee,  the  city  might  well  afford  to  give,  provided  it  could 
be  made  certain  of  ultimately  attaining  a  title  to  the  whole 
space.  To  prevent  the  scheme  being  defeated,  after  the  purchase 
of  some  estates,  by  the  selfishness  and  caprice  of  the  owners  of 
the  residue,  a  plan  was  taken,  comprising  a  general  outline  of 
the  streets  and  stores  in  the  contemplated  improvement,  which 
at  that  time  it  was  thought  expedient  to  propose.  Estimates  hav- 
ing been  made,  and  confidential  persons  of  great  practical  know- 
ledge having  been  consulted,  the  Committee  were  convinced  that 
an  important  enlargement  of  the  market  might  be  effected  with- 
out injuriously  increasing  the  debt  or  affecting  the  credit  of  the 
city.  The  Mayor,  therefore,  proceeded  to  obtain  conditional  con- 
tracts from  the  several  proprietors,  by  force  of  which  each  bound 
himself,  on  the  payment  of  a  specified  sum  by  the  city  of  Boston, 
on  or  before  the  first  of  May  then  ensuing,  to  convey  his  land  to 
the  city,  with  full  title  and  warranty.  These  negotiations  were 
unavoidably  attended  with  gi-eat  and  peculiar  difficulties.  Each 
contract  was  made  separately,  often  under  mutual  pledges  of 
secrecy;  the  proprietors  often  considering  the  price  they  de- 
manded as  extravagant,  and  fearing  their  estimates  might  be 
assumed  as  a  basis  of  taxation  by  the  assessors.  After  reducing 
the  price  of  each  estate  to  its  minimum,  the  Mayor  took  the 
contract,  deeming  it  essential  to  success  that,  after  the  plan  was 
made  public,  no  proprietor  should  be  able  to  avail  himself  of  the 
advantage  of  a  knowledge  of  the  effect  of  the  improvement  on 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  79 

his  particular  estate,  or  of  its  special  importance  to  the  general 
design. 

By  ihe  middle  of  December,  a  conditional  purchase  was 
effected  of  almost  all  the  land  required.  The  contracts  signed 
included  five  sixths  of  the  estates,  and  amounted  to  nearly  four 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  remaining  land,  it  was  estimated, 
might  be  obtained  for  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
It  chiefly  belonged  to  minors,  whose  trustees  or  guardians  pro- 
mised to  cooperate  with  the  city  government,  in  obtaining  author- 
ity to  sell  and  invest  their  title  in  the  city  at  a  fair  price. 

The  most- extensive  plan  the  Committee  of  the  City  Council 
dared,  at  that  time,  to  propose,  embraced  only  the  space  between 
the  street  leading  to  Bray's  Wharf  and  Ann  Street,  bounding 
westerly  on  a  line  running  in  the  du-ection  of  the  eastern  side  of 
Merchants'  Row,  four  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  The  distance 
to  which  the  parallelogram,  of  which  this  line  was  the  base, 
should  extend,  easterly,  was  limited  to  the  east  end  of  Codman's 
Wharf. 

Feet. 
The  space  between  these  lines  It  was  proposed  to  divide 

into  two  ranges  of  store-lots,  each  55  feet  wide,        .         .     110 
One  range  for  a  market  house,  50  feet  wide,  the  centre  of 

which  was  to  coincide  with  the  centre  of  Faneuil  Hall,  .       50 
And  two  streets,  80  feet  wide,  on  each  side  of  the  proposed 

market  house, 160 

And  two  streets  on  the  outside  of  each  range  of  stores, 

each  being  50  feet, .        .         .        .■       .        .        .        .     100 

420 

The  subsequent  great  extension  to  the  eastward,  and  also  that 
included  in  the  space  southward  to  Butler's  Row,  and  the  inter- 
mediate estates,  according  to  the  original  project,  were  not  then 
by  any  one  deemed  possible.  Even  this  plan,  so  limited  in  com- 
parison with  the  one  ultimately  effected,  was  condemned,  in 
public  and  private,  as  far  beyond  the  resources  of  the  city. 

The  titles  to  all  the  estates  in  the  above  space  were  now  in- 
vested in,  or  secured  for,  the  city,  with  the  exception  of  three  four- 
teenth parts  of  the  estate  belonging  to  the  heu's  of  Nathan  Spear, 
which  the  proprietors  refused  to  dispose  of  on  any  terms.  This 
estate  lay,  as  the  annexed  plan  will  show,  in  the  centre  of  the 
space  required  for  the  proposed  improvement ;  and  it  was  not  pos- 


80  MUNICIPAL  HISTOKY. 

sible  to  place  the  centre  of  the  market  house  in  coincidence  with 
the  centre  of  Faneuil  Hall,  without  crossing  that  estate,  almost  in 
its  whole  length ;  and  there  being  some  legal  questions,  applica- 
ble to  taking  lands  for  a  market,  which  did  not  apply  to  taking 
lands  for  streets,  it  was  deemed  advisable  by  the  City  Council  to 
place  the  market  house  as  far  as  possible  beyond  the  sphere  of  the 
Spear  estate.  The  plan  of  placing  its  centre  opposite  the  centre 
of  Faneuil  Hall  was  therefore  abandoned,  and  it  was  resolved 
that  the  northern  line  of  the  two  edifices  should  be  made  coinci- 
dent; a  cu-cumstance  often  mentioned  with  regret,  as  a  mistake, 
by  those  who  are  ignorant  of  the  obstacles  which  rendered  the 
present  relative  position  of  the  market  house  expedient.  After 
having  entered  into  contracts,  or  other  satisfactory  engage- 
ments with  all  the  adult  proprietors,  whose  lands  were  essential 
to  success,  with  the  above  exceptions,  and  obtained  elevations, 
gromid  plans,  and  estimates  of  a  market  house  and  the  proposed 
adjacent  stores,  on  the  eighth  of  December,  1823,  the  Mayor 
called  together  the  Committee.  Great  diversity  of  opinion  was 
evinced  at  this  meeting ;  and,  after  long  deliberation,  the  fear  of 
involving  the  city  in  debt  prevailed,  and  it  was  unanimously 
agreed,  in  the  first  place,  to  attempt  to  associate  the  proprietors 
of  the  land  in  the  project,  to  be  effected  at  common  risk  and 
profit.  Should  this  offer  be  declined,  it  would  be  apparent  that 
the  improvement  must  be  executed,  if  at  all,  by  the  energy  and 
resom-ces,  exclusively,  of  the  city ;  a  cu'cumstance  which,  it  was 
hoped,  would  unavoidably  produce  unanimity  among  the  citi- 
zens. "With  these  views,  the  Mayor,  as  Chakman  of  the  Com- 
mittee, made  a  report  of  the  above  date,  in  which  the  importance 
and  necessity  of  the  undertaking  are  stated ;  the  plan  and  eleva- 
tions communicated  ;  the  impracticability  of  uniting  the  opinions 
of  the  citizens  in  favor  of  purchases  to  so  great  an  amount,  with- 
out a  previous  exposition,  asserted ;  the  impossibility  of  making 
those  purchases  on  its  account,  after  such  development,  intimat- 
ed ;  and,  after  declaring  the  opinion  that  a  fuU  exposition  of  their 
plan  should  be  made  to  the  public,  proposed  to  invite  the  proprie- 
tors to  become  interested  in  the  project,  in  the  proportion  of  their 
existing  rights ;  to  state  what  the  city  would  give,  in  addition  to 
its  right  in  the  dock  and  streets,  for  the  land  reserved  for  streets 
and  a  market.  Their  report  concludes  with  recommending  an 
order,  to  be  passed  by  the  City  Council,  authorizing  a  joint 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  81 

committee  of  that  body  to  enter  into  a  negotiation  with  the 
proprietors  of  the  land  adjoining  the  market,  and  with  other 
citizens,  to  unite  with  the  City  Council  in  one  general  plan  of 
improvement  in  that  vicinity,  on  terms  specified  in  the  order. 

That  order  was  passed  by  the  City  Council  on  the  eighth  of 
December,  1823;  and  a  committee,  consisting  of  the  Mayor, 
and  Messrs.  Child,  Benjamin,  and  Patterson,  of  the  Board  of 
Aldermen,  and  Messrs.  Dexter,  Silsby,  E.  Williams,  Brooks, 
Russell,  Winslow,  and  Tappan,  of  the  Common  Council,  were 
accordingly  appointed. 

On  the  tenth  of  that  month  the  Committee  prepared  and  trans- 
mitted to  the  several  proprietors  of  land  three  propositions,  con- 
formable to  the  authority  given  by  the  City  Council.  By  the 
first,  they  were  invited  to  combine  and  throw  their  estates  into  a 
common  stock  with  the  estates  belonging  to  the  city,  the  whole 
to  be  appraised  at  their  real  value  by  commissioners  mutually  to 
be  chosen,  who  were  to  be  authorized  to  lay  out  the  estates  on  a 
plan  specified,  and  to  divide  the  whole  interest  into  shares,  in 
proportions  conformed  to  the  appraisement,  and  to  make  sales 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  concern,  the  city  to  be  considered  as 
a  proprietor  for  the  amount  of  its  estates,  but  streets  and  lanes, 
given  or  taken,  not  to  be  considered  in  any  estimate.  The  same 
Commissioners  to  be  authorized  to  appraise  the  land  reserved  for 
a  market,  and  to  decide  what  the  city  should  pay  to  the  general 
concern  for  that  interest,  considering  all  ckcumstances.  This 
sum  was  to  be  divided  between  the  proprietors,  like  the  proceeds 
of  the  sales,  according  to  their  respective  shares.  The  second 
proposition  requested  the  proprietor,  who  dissented  from  the  pre- 
ceding, to  state  his  willingness  to  sell  his  land  at  an  appraisement 
to  be  made  by  five  or  seven  disinterested  persons,  mutually  chosen ; 
the  city  .declaring  its  willingness  to  consent  to  such  appraise- 
ment, upon  the  single  condition  that  the  result  should  only  be 
obhgatory  in  case  of  the  ultimate  success  of  the  general  project. 
The  tlnrd  proposition  invited  any  proprietor,  who  declined  con- 
curring in  either  of  the  preceding  propositions,  to  transmit  to  the 
Mayor  the  terms  on  which  he  would  be  willing  to  sell  his  land 
to  the  city,  with  the  assm'ance  on  the  part  of  the  city,  that  either 
they  will  be  accepted,  or  a  counter-proposition  made  on  its  part, 
limited  only  by  the  single  condition  expressed  in  the  second  pro- 
position.     The  proprietors  were  requested  to  give  an  answer 


82  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

within  ten  days,  and  the  opinion  and  earnest  wish  of  the  city- 
authorities  were  expressed,  that  the  whole  arrangement  might 
result  in  uniting  the  accommodation  of  the  city  with  the  advance- 
ment of  the  interests  of  the  proprietors. 

These  various  propositions  were  submitted  to  the  proprietors 
with  a  view  to  test  their  dispositions  and  to  foreclose  any  future 
complaints  against  those  measures,  to  which  it  might  become 
necessary  for  the  city  finally  to  resort.  The  prejudices  and  inte- 
rest hostile  to  the  prosecution  of  the  improvement  by  the  funds 
of  the  city,  rendered  it  expedient  to  evidence  a  disposition  to 
admit  private  citizens  into  a  share  in  the  concern,  and  particu- 
larly the  proprietors  of  the  land,  should  such  a  disposition  be  met 
by  a  corresponding  disposition  in  any  of  those  individuals,  they 
might  be  considered  and  accepted,  or  rejected,  according  to  their 
nature.  Should  no  such  corresponding  disposition  appear,  then 
the  city  authorities  would  be  justified  in  proceeding  on  the  basis 
of  the  city  funds  and  powers,  as  being  obviously  the  only  remain- 
ing mode  of  effecting  the  improvement. 

No  proposition  was  received  from  any  one,  on  the  basis  of 
throwing  the  estates  into  a  common  stock ;  nor  any  upon  that 
of  selling  estates  to  the  city  by  appraisement.  Several*  of  the 
proprietors,  however,  expressed  their  willingness  to  sell,  but  the 
prices  demanded  by  some  were  deemed  exorbitant,  and  two 
or  three  of  them  refused  absolutely  to  sell  at  any  rate,  declaring 
that  they  had  interests  in  other  parts  of  the  city,  which  they 
apprehended  would  be  injuriously  affected  by  the  proposed  alter- 
ations in  the  vicinity  of  Faneuil  Hall,  and  that  they  would  enter 
into  no  negotiation,  nor  make  any  offer  upon  the  subject. 

The  Committee,  therefore,  reported  on  the  twenty-ninth  of 
December,  1823,  that  the  prices  demanded  by  the  owners  of 
estates  in  the  vicinity  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market  were  generally 
such  as  to  render  it  inexpedient  to  proceed  further  in  an  attempt 
to  negotiate,  and  recommended  resolutions,  which  were  adopted 
by  the  City  Council,  appointing  a  committee  to  apply  to  the 
State  Legislature  for  "  such  an  extension  of  the  powers  of  Siu*- 
veyors  of  Highways,  as  may  enable  the  city  to  become  possessed 
of  such  estates  in  the  vicinity  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market  as  the  said 
Surveyors  may  deem  it  expedient  for  the  city  to  possess  for  the 
pubhc  use,  under  such  limitations,  restrictions,  and  provisions,  as 
the  constitution  enjoins,  and  as  regard  for  the  interests  of  the 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  83 

public,  and  respect  for  the  rights  of  individuals  shall  dictate. 
Resolutions  to  this  effect  were  passed  in  both  branches  of  the 
City  Council,  and  the  same  Committee  were  authorized  to  apply- 
to  the  Legislature  for  such  powers. 

On  the  twelfth  of  the  ensuing  January,  the  Committee  so 
appointed  made  a  report,  and  submitted  to  the  City  Council  the 
draft  of  a  memorial  to  the  Legislature,  recommending,  however, 
that  previously  to  thus  applying  to  the  Legislature,  the  whole 
subject  should  be  laid  before  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  for  their 
sanction. 

This  recommeridation  was  made  in  consideration  of  the  great- 
ness of  the  effect  of  this  contemplated  project  on  the  relations  of 
real  property  in  all  that  circle  of  territory,  from  the  Town  Dock  by 
the  head  of  Ann  Street,  and  the  Mill  Creek  to  Exchange  Wharf; 
the  whole  of  which  would  be,  it  was  apparent,  advantageously 
affected  by  the  improvement.  As  the  powers  about  to  be  asked 
of  the  Legislature,  though  the  same  in  nature  with  the  ordinary 
powers  of  surveyors  of  highways,  were  yet  much  more  extensive 
in  degree,  and  would  have  a  direct  action  upon  private  rights, 
and  as  loans  to  a  considerable  amount  would  be  requisite,  in 
case  the  improvement  was  authorized,  it  seemed  expedient,  con- 
sidering the  great  range  of  these  relations,  that  the  real  senti- 
ments of  the  citizens  should  be  formally  and  satisfactorily  ascer- 
tained. 

The  project  had  thus  far  appeared  to  be  received  with  very' 
general  approbation  ;  but  it  was  thought  that  if  the  result  of  the 
proposed  appeal  to  the  citizens,  in  general  meeting,  should  show 
that  they  reaUy  entertained  such  views  of  their  own  interest, 
gTcat  encom-agement  and  support  would  be  given  to  the  City 
Council  in  their  future  measures.  Should,  however,  the  result 
indicate  that  the  general  opinion  was  opposed  to  the  contem- 
plated improvement,  it  was  desirable  that  the  fact  should  be 
known  before  proceeding  farther  on  the  subject. 

These  views  of  the  Committee  were  approved  by  the  City 
Council,  and  at  a  general  and  very  full  meeting  of  the  inhabit- 
ants, on  the  sixteenth  of  January,  1824,  the  following  questions 
were  submitted  to  them.  1st.  Is  it  expedient  that  Faneuil  Hall 
Market  should  be  extended  towards  the  Harbor,  between  Ann 
Street  and  the  street  leading  to  Bray's  Wharf,  in  such  direction 
as  the  City  Council,  upon  a  view  of  all  the  circumstances  of  that 


84  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

vicinity,  shall  deem  most  for  the  public  interest ;  and  that  the 
City  Council  be  requested  to  cause  the  same  to  be  effected 
accordingly  ?  2d.  Is  it  expedient  for  the  City  Council  to  apply 
to  the  Legislature  for  such  an  extension  of  the  powers  of  the 
Surveyors  of  Highways,  as  the  circumstances  of  the  contempla- 
ted project  above-mentioned  may  make  necessary,  under  such 
limitations  and  restrictions  as  the  constitution  requires,  and  as 
respect  for  private  rights  may  dictate  ? 

At  this  meeting  the  subject  was  debated  with  warmth,  and 
opposed  by  several  citizens  of  wealth,  talent,  and  eloquence.  In 
its  support,  the  Mayor  stated  the  views  entertained  by  the  City 
Council,  produced  a  plan  of  the  general  improvement  contem- 
plated, embracing  a  ground  view  and  an  elevation  of  the  pro- 
posed stores  and  market  house  ; — the  former  extending  no  fiui;her 
than  to  the  easterly  end  of  Codman's  Wharf,  being  only  four 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  length,  and  not  passing  in  an  easterly 
direction  beyond  the  ancient  southwesterly  line  of  the  dock,  and 
was  limited  to  the  space  between  the  lane  leading  to  Bray's 
Wharf  and  Ann  Street,  having  the  market  house  fifty  feet  wide, 
with  a  sixty-five  feet  street  on  its  north  side  and  a  sixty  feet 
street  on  its  south  side.  The  market  house  was  proposed  to  be 
only  one  story  in  height,  of  wood,  open  on  all  sides,  supported 
by  a  double  row  of  pillars,  like  the  market  houses  in  Philadelphia, 
and  bearing  no  comparison  with  the  plan  which  was  subsequently 
executed.  It  was,  however,  opposed  as  being  impracticable, 
from  its  extent  and  expense,  and  was  opprobriously  denominated 
"the  mammoth  project  of  the  Mayor."  It  was  denounced  as 
laying  the  foundation  of  a  city  debt,  "  which  neither  the  present 
inhabitants  of  Boston,  nor  their  posterity,  would  be  able  to  pay." 
It  was  said  that  schemes  of  this  kind  had  better  be .  left  to  the 
enterprise  of  individuals,  who  do  them  better  and  cheaper  than 
corporations.     It  was  denied  that  a  gi-eat  market  was  wanted. 

To  these  and  other  arguments  adduced  in  opposition  to  the 
project,  a  very  few  plain  statements  were  opposed,  explaining  its 
necessity,  feasibility,  and  expediency,  and  showing  that  it  would 
probably  create  the  means  for  indemnifying  the  city  for  the 
expenses  which  its  prosecution  would  occasion.  These  general 
considerations,  aided  by  the  strong  conviction  which  the  embar- 
rassed and  inconvenient  state  of  the  existing  market  had  im- 
pressed  on  the  minds  of  the  citizens  in  general,  seconded  by  the 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  85 

strong  desire  prevalent  throughout  the  whole  northern  section  of 
the  city  for  the  widening  of  the  Roebuck  Passage,  and  above  all, 
the  certainty  that  this  improvement,  from  its  locality,  would,  if 
carried  into  effect,  result  in  producing  important  changes,  favor- 
able to  the  value  of  real  estate  in  that  division  of  the  city,  caused 
the  arguments  in  favor  of  the  project  to  have  a  weight  and  influ- 
ence which  neither  the  talents,  nor  the  respectability  of  those 
who  resisted  the  proposition,  could  successfully  counteract.  Both 
questions  were  carried  in  the  affirmative  by  great  majorities,  and 
as  was  asserted  at  the  time,  by  at  least  three  to  one.^ 

In  conformity  with  this  expression  of  the  public  opinion,  a  full 
memorial,  stating  the  advantages  resulting  to  the  country  and  the 
city  from  the  proposed  project,  was  presented  to  the  Legislature, 
and  on  the  twenty-first  of  February,  1824,  an  act  was  passed 
"  authorizing  the  extension  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market  in  Boston." 
The  principles  of  that  act  were  contested,  both  before  the  Legis- 
lative Committee  and  in  the  Legislature  itself.  At  one  period 
the  chance  of  success  seemed  so  dubious,  that  the  Mayor  pre- 
pared, on  his  own  responsibility,  a  short  pamphlet,  and  caused  it 
to  be  distributed  to  the  members  of  the  Legislature,  elucidating, 
very  briefly,  the  questions  in  controversy.  It  however  finally 
passed  in  both  branches,  with  no  inconsiderable  majorities. 

On  the  first  of  March,  the  Committee  on  the  extension  of 
Faneuil  Hall  Market  reported  to  the  City  Council  the  act  they 
had  obtained  from  the  Legislature,  and  suggested  the  course  of 
proceedings  which  they  now  deemed  it  proper  for  the  City  Coun- 
cil to  adopt,  in  the  form  of  distinct  resolutions,  which  were 
accordingly  passed  by  the  City  Council  on  that  day.  By  the 
first  of  these  resolutions,  the  conditions  of  the  act  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, on  which  the  powers  granted  depended,  were  complied  wdth 
by  the  formal  declaration  of  the  City  Council,  "  that  the  public 
exigencies  required  that  the  limits  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market  should 
be  extended  "  between  Ann  Street  on  the  north,  a  line  drawn 
from  the  east  end  of  Faneuil  Hall  on  the  west,  the  south  side  of 
Faneuil  Hall  and  the  lane  leading  to  Bray's  Wharf  on  the  south, 
and  the  harbor  on  the  east.  By  the  second,  the  direction  in 
which  the  market  should  be  extended,  was  referred  for  future 
consideration.     By  the  third,  a  joint  committee  was  appointed 

1  Columbian  Centinel,  17th  Janiiaiy,  1824, 
8 


86  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

to  consider  whether  the  land  requisite  for  the  improvement  should 
be  acquired  by  purchase  or  by  virtue  of  the  powers  granted  by  the 
Legislature  ;  ^nd,  in  the  latter  case,  to  report  the  particular  direc- 
tion in  which  the  extension  should  be  effected.  Should  the  mode 
of  purchase  be  selected  by  the  Committee,  they  were  then  author- 
ized to  proceed  to  make  the  purchases,  three  fourths  of  the  Com- 
mittee concm-ring  in  such  purchase,  and  signing  a  vote  to  that 
effect ;  their  powers  of  purchasing  being  limited  to  the  sum  of 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  sum  was  inserted  in  the 
Common  Council,  by  a  majority  of  only  owe,  (yeas  19,  nays  18.) 
By  the  fourth,  the  Committee  were  authorized  to  borrow,  at  five 
per  cent.,  for  the  payment  for  the  estates  purchased,  a  like  pro- 
portion of  the  Committee  being  required  to  sanction  in  writing 
the  terms  of  any  loan.  By  the  fifth,  the  Mayor  and  Treasurer 
were  empowered  to  sign  and  countersign  certificates  of  such 
loans ;  the  joint  Committee  who  reported  the  resolutions  being 
authorized  to  carry  them  into  effect. 

This  Committee,  consisting  of  the  Mayor  and  Messrs.  Child, 
Patterson,  and  Benjamin  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  Messrs. 
Dexter,  Silsby,  E.  Williams,  Brooks,  Russell,  Winslow,  and 
Tappan  of  the  Common  Council,  had  its  first  meeting  on  the 
sixteenth  of  March,  1824,  and  gave  a  general  authority  to  the 
Mayor  to  purchase  three  of  the  principal  estates  (Codman's, 
Wheaton's,  and  Miller's)  at  rates  below  what  those  proprietors 
had  previously  demanded. 

On  the  twenty-sLxth,  the  Mayor  reported  the  rejection  by  those 
proprietors  of  the  offer  made  by  the  Committee.  The  proceed- 
ings were  then  postponed,  and  the  Mayor  was  authorized  to  pro- 
ceed in  the  negotiation  at  his  discretion,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  Committee. 

At  this  period,  great  difficulties  appeared  in  the  way  of  the 
project.  Two  of  the  Committee  declared  themselves  decidedly 
opposed  to  proceeding  on  the  scale  contemplated,  and  presented 
calculations  to  show  that  the  project  would  result  in  a  debt  of 
at  least  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  These  were  met  by 
counter  calculations,  which  were  satisfactory  to  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Committee ;  and  as  on  the  first  of  May,  the  conditional 
conti-acts  obtained  by  the  Mayor  of  the  several  proprietors  would 
terminate,  a  decisive  course  of  measures  now  became  necessary. 
On  the  ninth  of  April,  therefore,  the  Committee  authorized  the 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  87 

Mayor  to  purchase  the  estates  at  the  prices  at  which  any  of  the 
proprietors  were  under  contract  to  sell.  This  authority  that 
officer  immediately  proceeded  to  execute,  and  from  this  time  the 
operations,  with  reference  to  this  improvement,  were  efficiently 
commenced ;  a  debt  of  more  than  forty-eight  thousand  dollars 
was  now  contracted,  nearly  twenty  thousand  feet  of  land,  besides 
wharf  rights  secured,  and  a  general  authority  further  to  negotiate 
having  been  vested  in  the  Faneuil  Hall  Committee,  the  City 
Council  closed  its  labors  on  this  subject  for  the  second  year  of 
the  city. 


CHAPTER  VIl. 

CITY   GOVEHmiENT.     1823-1824. 

Jo  SI  AH   QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

Proceedings  relative  to  the  House  of  Industry  —  Opposition  of  the  Overseers  of 
the  Poor  to  the  Removal  of  the  Inmates  of  the  Ahnshouse  —  A  House  of  Cor- 
rection erected  at  South  Boston  —  Attempts  to  Conciliate  the  Overseers  of 
the  Poor  — Its  Effects  —  Liberty  to  use  the  Cellars  of  a  Church  for  Burial 
denied  —  Department  of  Police. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  second  administration  of  the 
city  in  May,  1823,  it  had  become  apparent  that  the  House  of 
Industry  was  destined  to  sustain  an  Linqualified  opposition  from 
the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  and  a  decided  support  from  a  major- 
ity of  the  City  Council. 

When  the  Committee  for  erecting  the  House  of  Industry, 
under  the  town  government,  first  visited  the  Almshouse  in 
Leverett  Street,  in  April,  1821,  they  were  convinced  that  the 
edifice  and  the  land  round  it  were  wholly  inadequate  to  the  pre- 
sent and  future  exigencies  of  the  community.  These  facts  were 
admitted  by  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  themselves,  and  also  by 
the  Superintendent  of  the  Almshouse.  AU  the  particulars  of  its 
want  of  adaptation  to  moral  effect  and  discipline  cannot  here 
be  stated.  The  Committee,  therefore,  after  obtaining  authority 
and  appropriations,  purchased,  as  already  stated,^  sixty-three 
acres  of  land  at  South  Boston,  and  erected  the  House  of  Indus- 
try, with  accommodations  to  effect  a  complete  separation  of  the 
sexes,  with  every  arrangement  for  the  comfort,  health,  and  em- 
ployment of  the  respectable  classes  of  the  poor,  and  with  distinct 
apartments  for  the  insane.  And  they  anticipated  that  the  sale 
of  the  house  and  land  in  Leverett  Street  would  probably  indemv 
nify  the  town  for  this  expenditure  at  South  Boston.  1 

These  arrangements  of  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Indus- 

1  See  ch.  iii.  p.  38. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  89 

try  received  the  sanction  of  the  inhabitants  at  the  last  town 
meeting  ever  held  in  Boston.  And  their  opinions  and  views 
were  confirmed  by  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  the  first  City 
Council,  of  which  the  Mayor,  John  Phillips,  was  Chairman.^ 
But  to  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  this  whole  plan  was  obnoxious. 
They  did  not  estimate  the  estate  in  Leverett  Street  at  so  high  a 
value  as  the  Committee,  and  although  they  acknowledged  the 
inadequacy  of  the  Almshouse,  its  location  near  the  centre  of 
business  facilitated  the  performance  of  their  duties,  and  they  did 
not  regard  inconveniences  to  which  they  had  been  long  inured 
with  the  same  feelings  of  disapprobation  as  did  those  to  whom 
they  were  new.  They  sympathized  in  the  prejudices  of  the 
more  respectable  inmates  in  favor  of  the  present  location,  and 
were  unwilling  to  deprive  them  of  the  humble  comforts  and 
pleasm-es  obtained,  by  permission,  once  a  week  to  stroll  about 
the  streets  and  visit  the  families  and  receive  the  charities  of  their 
former  friends. 

These,  and  perhaps  other  motives  of  a  less  distinct  character, 
led  to  a  course  of  opposition,  which,  dm*ing  the  fust  year  of  the 
city  government,  prevented  the  House  of  Industry  from  going 
into  operation,  and  occasioned  also  a  long  series  of  embarrass- 
ments to  the  second  administration.  On  the  first  of  May,  1823, 
when  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Industry 
was  inaugurated  Mayor  of  the  city,  he  recommended  to  the  City 
Council  to  take  early  measures  to  carry  that  institution  into 
effect,  and  a  joint  committee  ^  was  raised  on  the  subject,  of 
which  he  was  appointed  Chairman.  On  the  twelfth  of  May,  the 
Committee  reported  that  it  was  expedient  to  put  the  House  of 
Industry  into  operation  as  soon  as  possible  ;  and  eight  thousand 
dollars  were  immediately  appropriated  towards  its  completion. 

This  report  was  based  upon  a  statement  annexed  to  it,  repre- 
senting the  advantages  of  supporting  the  poor  on  an  extent  of 
land,  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  raise  at  least  their  own  provi- 
sions, and  on  the  total  inadequacy  of  the  Almshouse  in  Leverett 
Street  to  the  objects  of  such  an  institution,  since  its  restricted  / 
limits  gave  its  inmates  a  pretext  to  obtain  leave  to  wander  ^ 
about  the  city  every  week,  where  some  of  them  found  means  to 
gratify  their  propensity  to  intoxication,  to  beg,  or  to  steal,  of 

1  See  ch.  iv.  p.  51.  2  See  ch.  v.  p.  62. 


90  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

which  the  records  of  the  Municipal  Court  contained  melancholy 
evidence. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  May,  in  conformity  with  the  act  of  the 
Legislature,  authorizing  the  City  Council  to  appoint  the  Direct- 
ors of  the  House  of  Industry,  the  first  Board  i  was  chosen,  who 
proceeded  forthwith  to  complete  the  arrangements  for  that  insti- 
tution. And  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  July,  the  Directors  gave 
notice  that  the  House  of  Industry  was  prepared  to  receive  the 
inmates  of  the  Leverett  Street  Almshouse.  For  the  adoption 
of  measures  to  remove  a  part  of  them  to  South  Boston,  a  joint 
committee  of  the  City  Council,^  was  appointed  to  meet  the 
Board  of  Overseers  of  the  Poor.  After  several  interviews  it 
became  evident  that  if  the  City  Council  were  not  to  receive  a 
decided  opposition  to  the  proposed  transfer,  they  were  to  have 
no  assistance  from  the  Overseers.  It  was  also  found  that  the 
inmates  of  the  Almshouse  had  generally  imbibed  gross  and  un- 
founded prejudices  against  the  House  of  Industry,  in  addition  to 
the  dislike  which  paupers,  accustomed  to  be  supported  in  com- 
parative idleness,  naturally  felt  towards  an  institution  in  which 
work  was  to  be  required  of  them. 

On  the  first  interview,  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  declared  they 
had  no  authority  to  transfer  the  poor  in  the  Almshouse  to  the 
care  of  the  Dkectors  of  the  House  of  Industry,  and  that  they 
should  not  cooperate  in  such  removal.  On  the  urgent  remon- 
strance of  the  Committee,  they  at  length  assented  to  allow  to  be 
transferred  such  of  the  able-bodied  poor  as  the  Master  of  the 
Almshouse  should  declare  might  be  spared  from  that  establish- 
ment; and  the  whole  number  of  the  able-bodied  poor  in  the 
Almshouse  being  one  hundred  and  fifty-five,  the  Overseers  con- 
sented to  discharge  forty-one.  As  the  Overseers  had  set  up  a 
claim  of  exclusive  authority  on  the  subject,  their  decision  con- 
cerning the  number  to  be  ti-ansferred  to  the  House  of  Industry 
was  acquiesced  in  by  the  Committee. 

But  the  Overseers,  persisting  in  their  determination  to  give  no 
sanction  to  the  transfer,  instead  of  delivering  the  paupers  over  to 

1  The  members  elected  were,  — John  Bellows,  George  W.  Otis,  Henry  J. 
Ohver,  Isaac  McLellan,  Cyrus  Alger,  Edward  Cruft,  Samuel  Dorr,  George  Hal- 
let,  Benjamm  Shurtleff. 

n\  ™«^9°™^i'"^®  ^^^^  *^®  Mayor,  Daniel  Baxter,  Joseph  H.  Dorr,  and 
Laleb  Jiddy  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen;  Eliphalet  Williams,  James  Savage, 
John  l*.  Boyd,  Noah  Brooks,  and  Joel  Prouty,  of  the  Common  Council. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  91 

the  Committee,  called  them  severally  into  their  room,  and,  in 
presence  of  the  Committee,  gave  to  each  of  the  paupers  a  writ- 
ten discharge  from  the  Almshouse,  simply  informing  them  they 
were  now  free  from  that  establishment.  By  this  course  of  pro- 
ceeding, the  paupers  were  made  to  understand  that  the  Over- 
seers gave  no  countenance  to  their  removal  to  the  House  of 
Industry,  and  that  they  were  at  liberty  to  go  or  not  at  their 
pleasm-e.  The  subsequent  proceedings  of  the  Committee  towards 
the  paupers  were,  consequently,  not  authoritative,  but  persuasive, 
and  they  urged  upon  the  forty-one  able-bodied  poor,  which  the 
Overseers  had  consented  to  spare  from  the  Almshouse,  the 
advantage  of  taking  the  bread  of  the  city  in  the  place  which  the 
city  had  provided.  The  result  was,  that  only  twenty-one  could 
be  prevailed  upon  to  embark  for  the  House  of  Industry  in  a  boat 
prepared  for  their  transfer.  The  rest  took  the  Overseers'  dis- 
charge ;  some  of  them  saying,  "  they  did  not  go  into  an  alms- 
house for  work ;  that  if  they  wanted  to  work  they  could  get  it 
out  of  doors."  Thus  the  fu'st  attempts  of  the  City  Council 
resulted  in  obtaining  tiventy-one  out  of  one  hundred  and  fifty-five 
able-bodied  poor  then  in  the  Almshouse  for  the  establishment  at 
South  Boston. 

The  City  Council  were  convinced  by  this  result  that  tempo- 
rary and  compromising  measures  must  be  laid  aside,  and  their 
determination  to  carry  into  full  effect  the  original  design  of  the 
House  of  Industry  at  South  Boston  should  at  once  be  made 
apparent  to  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city.  And  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  August,  1823,  the  Committee 
made  a  full  report,  stating  the  views  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor, 
regarding  their  authority  and  that  of  the  Directors  of  the  House 
of  Industry,  and  the  consequent  difficulties  they  had  encountered 
in  their  attempts  to  remove  the  paupers  from  the  Almshouse  to 
that  institution  ;  and  then  considered  the  question,  whether  both 
thes^e  establishments  ought  to  be  continued.  They  argued,  that 
from  motives  of  economy  alone,  the  Almshouse  ought  to  be  dis- 
continued, as  the  sale  of  the  house  in  Leverett  Street  would  pro- 
bably be  sufficient  to  defray  the  expense  of  all  the  buildings 
requisite  at  South  Boston.  They  then  urged  that  the  health  and 
happiness  of  the  paupers  required  a  pure  atmosphere,  space  for 
exercise,  a  separation  between  the  sexes  and  between  the  vicious 
and  virtuous  poor,  and  opportunity  for  useful  employment ;  aU 


92  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

of  which  could  be  obtained  in  the  highest  degree  at  South  Bos- 
ton. They,  therefore,  recommended  that  all  the  inmates  of  the 
Almshouse  in  Leverett  Street,  which  afforded  none  of  these 
advantages,  should  be  transferred  to  the  House  of  Industry,  and 
that  the  estate  in  Leverett  Street  should  be  sold. 

The  Committee  then  developed  a  plan,  which  the  Committee 
first  appointed  by  the  town  for  the  erection  of  the  House  of 
Industry  had  formed,  which  was  to  erect  in  the  vicinity  of  that 
institution  a  house  of  correction  for  the  reception  of  rogues  and 
vagabonds,  and  other  proper  subjects  of  restraint  and  punish- 
ment. They  urged  that  the  protection  and  comfort  of  the  poor, 
who  from  age,  misfortunes,  or  infirmity,  took  refuge  in  the  House 
of  Industry,  required  such  a  separation,  and  recommended  author- 
ity and  an  appropriation  for  canying  the  same  into  immediate 
effect.     In  conformity  with  these  views  they  proposed,  — 

1.  That  the  House  of  Industry  at  South  Boston  should  here- 
after be  the  Almshouse  of  the  city,  and  that  the  Overseers  of  the 
Poor  should  be  directed  to  cause  aU  the  poor  to  be  forthwith 
transferred  to  it  with  certain  specified  exceptions. 

2.  That  all  the  furniture,  provisions,  &c.,  should  be  transferred 
in  like  manner  to  the  House  of  Industry  also,  with  certain  spe- 
cified exceptions. 

3.  That  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  should  be  authorized  to 
make  temporary  provision  for  the  sick  and  maniacs  in  the  house 
in  Leverett  Street. 

4.  That  a  committee  of  the  City  Council  should  be  appointed 
to  superintend  and  aid  the  Overseers  in  these  arrangements. 

5.  That  the  Du-ectors  of  the  House  of  Industry  should  be 
authorized  to  erect  a  house  suitable  for  a  house  of  correction, 
and  an  appropriation  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  be  made  for 
that  object. 

6.  That  a  joint  committee  of  the  City  Council  should  be 
appointed  for  the  sale  of  the  Almshouse  in  Leverett  Street. 

7.  That  the  future  admission  of  paupers  into  the  house  in 
Leverett  Street  should  be  prohibited,  except  in  case  of  necessity, 
and  until  they  could  be  removed  to  South  Boston. 

8.  That  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  should  be  authorized  to  give 
permits  for  admission  into  the  House  of  Industry. 

9.  That  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  on  apphcation  of  the  Over- 
seers of  the  Poor,  should  be  authorized  to  provide  for  the  transfer 
of  such  poor  to  South  Boston. 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  93 

This  report  was  accepted,  and  the  votes  recommended  passed 
by  both  branches  of  the  City  Council,  and  the  several  commit- 
tees appointed,  of  each  of  which  the  Mayor  was  constituted 
Chairman. 

By  the  direction  of  the  Committee,  the  Mayor  communicated 
these  votes  to  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  on  the  ninth  of  Septem- 
ber ;  but  they  refused  to  comply  with  the  directions  relative  to 
the  transfer  of  the  poor  to  South  Boston,  denying  the  authority 
of  the  City  Council  and  the  responsibility  of  the  Overseers  to 
that  body. 

The  Mayor,  however,  being  anxious  to  prevent,  if  possible,  all 
collisions  between  the  different  city  authorities,  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  Chairman  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  stating  that 
"  twenty  or  thirty  laborers  were  now  wanting  at  the  House  of 
Industry  ;  "  that  "  he  had  been  informed  by  one  of  the  Overseers 
of  the  Poor  that  such  a  number,  at  least,  of  able-bodied  poor 
were  now  in  the  Almshouse  with  little  or  no  work ; "  that  "  if 
they  could  not  be  obtained,  it  would  be  necessary  for  the  city  to 
hire ; "  and  expressing  the  wish  of  the  city  authorities  to  avoid 
aU  public  discussions  of  questions  of  jurisdiction  between  coex- 
isting boards,  inquired  whether,  considering  the  actual  relations 
of  things,  and  also  the  great  respectability  in  point  of  charac- 
ter and  talent  of  the  Directors  of  the  House  of  Industry,  the 
Overseers  of  the  Poor,  under  the  expressed  wish  of  the  City 
Council,  may  not  enable  that  body  to, avoid  the  necessity  of  any 
discussion,  concerning  relative  powers,  by  simply  declaring'  that 
under  these  circumstances  and  relations.,  they  consent  that  such  of 
the  poor  as,  after  consultation  by  the  Committee  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil with  the  Overseers,  it  shall  be  deemed  expedient  to  transfer, 
shall  be  temporarily  placed  under  the  direction  and  superintend- 
ence of  the  Directors  of  the  House  of  Industry,  until  the  ivhole 
poor  shall  be  transferred,  reserving-  to  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor 
the  right  of  visitatorial  power,  in  relation  to  that  establishment,  at 
their  pleasure,  and  of  making  all  inquiries  concerning  the  manage- 
ment there,  as  they  deem  expedient,  and,  in  case  of  any  dissatisfac- 
tion, of  taking  such  measures  as  the  exigency  may  require." 

None  of  these  suggestions  were  acceded  to  by  the  Overseers 
of  the  Poor ;  and  on  the  twenty-third  of  September,  1823,  they 
made  a  communication  to  the  City  Council,  signed  by  Redford 
Webster,  their  Chairman,  developing  their  views  of  their  duties 


94  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

and  rights.  In  this  they  stated,  that  as  they  derived  their  author- 
ity from  the  people,  "  it  did  not  appear  that  they  were,  in  any 
respect,  the  agents  of  the  City  Council,  or  properly  subordinate  to 
them ; "  that  "  they  derived  their  powers  from  the  statute  passed  in 
1735,  ratified  and  confirmed  in  January,  1789."  They  then 
undertook,  by  a  course  of  reasoning,  to  show  that  the  city  char- 
ter effected  no  change  in  those  powers,  and  that  notwithstanding 
the  acts  of  the  legislature,  estabhshing  the  Directors  of  the  House 
of  Industry,  the  Overseers  had  the  right  to  the  care  of  the  Alms- 
house and  the  superintendence  of  its  government  and  the 
management  of  the  poor. 

The  Committee  of  the  City  Council,  thus  finding  that  all 
attempts  to  induce  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  to  acquiesce  in  the 
measures  proposed,  were  fruitless,  submitted  a  report,  marking 
out  a  course  of  measures,  which  were  adopted  by  the  City 
Council.  In  this  they  showed  that  the  claims^  set  up  by  the 
Overseers  of  being  "  neither  agents  or  subordinates  of  the 
City  Council,"  necessarily  implied  they  were  either  equals  or 
superiors ;  either  of  which  excluded  the  idea  of  responsibility ; 
that  if  not  responsible  to  the  City  Council,  they  were  responsible 
to  no  one,  as  the  City  Council  was  the  only  body  now  invested 
with  the  fiscal,  prudential,  and  municipal  concerns  of  the  city. 
The  consequences  of  such  a  claim  by  a  Board  expending  annu- 
ally thirty  or  forty  thousand  dollars  of  the  public  money  was  too 
serious  to  be  passed  over  without  examination ;  they  recom- 
mended, therefore,  a  special  committee  for  that  pm*pose. 

In  order,  however,  to  avoid  all  discussions  concerning  the  rela- 
tions of  authority  of  the  City  Council  and  the  Board  of  Over^ 
seers,  they  recommended  a  course  of  measures  coincident  with 
the  views  entertained  by  the  Overseers  of  their  own  powers,  and 
predicated  upon  the  statute  of  1735,  which  that  Board  considered 
as  the  basis  of  those  powers. 

As  the  statute  of  1735  required  that  « the  house  for  the  recep- 
tion and  employment  of  the  idle  and  poor  should  be  undjer  the 
regulation  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  and  be  erected,  provided 
for,  continued,  or  discontinued,  as  the  town  of  Boston  shall 
find  or  judge  their  circumstances  require;"  and,  as  the  town 
had  no  longer  a  corporate  existence,  and  all  the  rights  of  the 
ancient  town  were,  by  the  terms  of  the  city  charter,  vested  in 
the  city  of  Boston ;  and,  as  all  the  administration  of  the  pru- 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  95 

dential  and  municipal  concerns  of  said  city  are,  by  the  same 
charter,  vested  in  the  City  Council,  the  Committee  considered 
that  it  would  not  be  questioned  by  the  Overseers,  or  by  any 
one,  that  it  now  belonged  to  the  City  Council,  exclasively,  to 
"judge  what  the  circumstances  of  the  city  requu-ed,  in  relation 
to  any  such  house  thus  erected." 

Upon  this  ground,  following  the  precise  words  of  the  statute 
of  1735,  in  all  material  points,  they  recommended  that  votes 
should  be  passed  of  the  following  import :  — 

1.  That  for  the  present,  and  until  the  further  order  of  the  City 
Council,  the  house  in  Leverett  Street  should  be  the  house  for  the- 
reception  and  employment  of  the  idle  and  poor  of  the  city,  under 
the  regulation  of  the  Overseers,  and  be  continued,  or  discon- 
tinued, as  the  City  Council  shall  find  or  judge  the  circumstances 
of  the  city  require." 

2.  That  the  Committee  of  the  City  Council  should  proceed  to 
Leverett  Street,  and,  after  notice  given  to  the  Overseers,  "judge 
what  the  circumstances  of  the  city  require,  in  relation  to  said 
house  and  the  inmates  thereof;"  and  if  they  judge,  in  relation  to 
any  of  said  inmates,  that "  the  said  house  shall  be  discontinued," 
it  was  declared  as  to  them  discontinued,  and  not  lawful  for  the 
Overseers  to  apply  to  such  inmates  any  portion  of  the  public 
provision  ;  and  if  they  afterwards  did  so  apply  it,  the  amount 
was  ordered  to  be  deducted  from  their  accounts. 

3.  That,  in  case  the  Committee  of  the  City  Council  should 
"judge  that  the  circumstances  of  the  city  required  that  the  per- 
sons, in  relation  to  whom  the  house  in  Leverett  Street  was  thus 
discontinued,  should  be  admitted  into  that  at  South  Boston, 
they  were  authorized  to  give  a  certificate  to  that  efiect,  and  the 
Directors  of  the  House  of  Industry  thereupon  should  admit 
them  into  that  institution. 

Other  votes  were  also  recommended,  for  appointing  a  com- 
mittee to  inquire  into  the  powers  and  authorities  of  the  Over- 
seers of  the  Poor,  under  the  city  charter,  particularly  with  refer- 
ence to  the  limitations  of  expenditure  of  public  moneys,  and 
then-  responsibility  for  their  disposition  of  them ;  also,  for  the 
transfer  of  five  thousand  dollars  of  the  unexpended  appropri- 
ation from  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  to  the"  Directors  of  the 
House  of  Industry ;  and,  finally,  giving  to  the  Overseers  of  the 
Poor,  in  conformity  with  the  act  of  February,  1794,  a  general 


96  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

visitatorial  power,  in  relation  to  the  treatment  of  the  poor,  in  the 
House  of  Industry.  These  votes  passed  the  Board  of  Aldermen 
on  the  twenty-ninth  of  September ;  and  on  the  first  of  October, 
notice  having  been  given  of  these  votes  to  the  Overseers,  the 
Committee  attended,  on  the  second  of  October,  at  the  Alms- 
house Wharf  with  a  boat,  and  received  from  them  thirty-five  of 
the  inmates,  who  were  forthwith  transferred  to  the  House  of 
Industry.  After  this"  time,  the  course  of  measures  which  the  City 
Council  had  originally,  resolved  upon  were  steadily  pursued,  —  to 
make  the  house  erected  at  South  Boston  the  refuge  of  the  respect- 
•able  poor,  and  the  House  of  Correction,  then  in  progress,  the  recep- 
tacle of  the  vagrant  and  vicious. 

During  the  remainder  of  this  city  year,  the  house  in  Leverett 
Street  was  chiefly  used  for  the  accommodation  of  the  sick,  and 
for  the  temporary  reception  of  those  who  were  to  be  subset 
quently  ti-ansferred  to  South  Boston,  no  further  obstructions 
being  offered  by  the  Overseers.  An  account  of  their  opposition 
to  future  measures  of  the  City  Council  will  be  given  in  a  subse- 
quent chapter. 

The  foundation  for  a  building  for  a  house  of  correction  was 
laid  this  year,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Directors  of 
the  House  of  Industry.  About  five  acres  of  land  were  also 
purchased,  in  its  immediate  vicinity,  for  the  enlargement  of 
its  boundaries. 

Li  this  state  of  progress  the  relations  of  that  institution  stood 
at  the  end  of  the  second  year  of  the  city  government. 

In  June,  1823,  a  petition  of  the  proprietors  of  the  chm'ch  in 
Bromfield  Street,  praying  for  the  liberty  to  erect  tombs  in  the 
cellars  of  that  edifice,  drew  the  attention  of  the  City  Council  to 
a  consideration  of  the  expediency  of  gi-anting  such  a  right.  The 
subject  was  referred  to  a  Committee  of  the  City  Council.i  The 
petition  was  pressed  with  great  m-gency,  as  a  common  right,  and 
the  grant  of  a  hke  privilege,  by  the  preceding  City  Council  to  the 
churches  of  St.  Paul  and  Park  Street,  was  relied  upon  as  conclu- 
sive. The  question  presented  great  difficulties.  To  gi'ant  it,  would 
be  to  allow  aU  the  churches  in  the  city  a  similar  privilege,  which, 
considering  the  pecuniary  advantage  resulting,  would  be  liliely  to 
be  generaUy  used.    To  deny  it,  would  be  to  withhold  from  a  nume- 

1  This  Committee  were,  — the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Dorr  and  Hooper,  and 
Messrs.  Page,  S.  Perkins,  Wales,  and  BuUard,  of  the  Common  Council. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  97 

rous  congi-ogation  rights  which  had,  during  the  last  year,  been 
gi-anted  to  two  churches  in  their  immediate  vicinity. 

On  examining  into  the  circumstances  under  which  those  privi- 
leges had  been  granted  to  the  St.  Paul  and  Park  Street  churches, 
it  was  found  that  they  had  been  acquired  under  a  weight  of  pri- 
vate interests  and  influences,  which  rendered  it  doubtful  whether 
the  permanent  welfare  of  the  city  had  been  sufficiently  con- 
sidered. The  important  question,  concerning  the  propriety  of 
allowing  cemeteries  under  churches  in  the  heart  of  a  metropolis, 
had  been  brought  before  the  first  administration  in  December, 
1822,  by  a  petition  of  the  proprietors  of  St.  Paul's,  praying  for 
leave  to  use  the  cellar  under  that  building  as  a  place  of  inter- 
ment; "and  stating  that,  having  erected  a  church  at  a  great 
expense,  they  had  incurred  a  debt,  from  which  they  could  not  be 
relieved  unless  their  prayer  was  granted.  Among  the  proprietors 
of  St.  Paul's  were  men  of  wealth  and  influence,  who  were 
earnestly  desirous  of  securing,  not  only  for  their  church,  but  for 
themselves,  the  benefit  of  possessing  tombs  under  it.  The  pro- 
prietors of  Park  Street  possessed  similar  influences  in  the  com- 
munity, and  were  actuated  by  aSsimilar  desire  to  be  relieved  from 
a  troublesome  debt,  by  the  sale  of  their  cellar  for  tombs.  Mem- 
bers of  each  society  were  members  of  one  or  the  other  branch  of 
the  city  government.  This  combination  of  circumstances  had 
a  tendency  to  counteract  an  unbiased  inquiry  into  the  public 
interest. 

The  Committee  of  the  first  City  Council,  to  whom  the  peti- 
tion of  the  church  of  St.  Paul's  had  been  referred,  in  1822, 
reported,  that  "  learned  physicians  had  given  a  decided  opinion 
that  no  injurious  effects  were  to  be  apprehended  from  granting 
such  a  privilege  on  the  health  of  the  city ; "  that  "  persons  whose 
business  obliged  them  to  be  constantly  exposed  to  the  decompo- 
sition of  animal  matter,  were  as  healthy  as  other  classes  of 
citizens ;"  and  that  "  no  danger  had  arisen  from  cemeteries  under 
King's  Chapel  and  Trinity  Church;"  and,  "as  to  nauseous 
effluvia,  tombs  might  be  so  constructed  as  to  prevent  any  incon- 
venience in  that  respect;"  and  after  recommending  that  the 
City  Council  should  annex  it  as  a  condition,  that  the  tombs 
should  be  constructed  under  the  dnection  of  a  committee  of  the 
City  Council,  and  forever  subject  to  their  control,  they  reported 
the  prayer  of  the  petition  ought  to  be  granted.  This  report 
9 


98  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

was  accepted  in  both  branches  on  the  thirtieth  December,  1822. 
The  Committee  who  made  this  report,  in  answer  to  the  objec- 
tion, that  other  societies  would  claim  the  same  privilege,  stated 
« they  had  not  taken  that  into  consideration,  leaving  it  to  the 
judgment  of  those  who  shall  have  the  care  of  the  interests  of 
the  city  at  the  time  such  application  may  be  made."  No  notice 
was  taken  of  this  statement,  or  intimation  given,  so  far  as  could 
be  ascertained,  of  any  intention  on  the  part  of  the  proprietors 
of  Park  Street  Church,  to  take  immediate  advantage  of  the 
precedent.  Yet,  on  the  twenty-third  day  of  January  ensuing,  as 
soon  as  the  principle  was  settled,  by  the  acceptance  of  that 
report,  those  proprietors  presented  a  petition  for  a  similar  right 
of  interment  under  their  church,  predicated  on  the  grant  to  the 
Church  of  St.  Paul's ;  and  their  petition  was  granted,  without 
even  the  formality  of  commitment  or  any  further  inquiry. 

Other  circumstances  greatly  diminished  the  confidence  of  the 
second  administration  of  the  city  in  the  soundness  of  these  per- 
missions, and  led  them  to  submit  the  petition  of  the  proprietors 
of  the  church  in  Bromfield  Street  to  a  rigorous  scrutiny.  On 
the  fom'th  of  August,  (1823,)  the  Chairman  of  this  Committee 
reported,  that  the  claim  of  the  Bromfield  Street  Church  had  no 
foundation  on  the  ground  of  common  right,  each  City  Council 
being  independent,  and  not  bound  to  exercise  its  discretion  by 
precedents  set  by  its  predecessors ;  that  if  the  claim  of  this 
church  be  granted,  there  would  be  no  resisting  similar  claims, 
and  that  the  cellar  of  every  church  in  the  city  might  be  con- 
verted into  a  cemetery;  that  the  temptation  to  exercise  that 
right,  when  it  was  recognized  to  be  universal,  would  be  abso- 
lutely irresistible,  since  Park  Street  Church  had  akeady  realized 
eight  thousand  dollars,  and  St.  Paul's  thirteen  thousand,  by  sales 
of  tomb  rights,  under  the  liberty  granted  by  the  first  City 
Council. 

Touching  the  opinions  of  those  physicians,  who  had  declared 
to  the  Committee  of  the  first  City  Council,  on  the  application 
of  St.  Paul's  Church,  "  that  if  tombs  under  churches  were  of 
brick  and  stone,  and  arched,  there  could  be  no  danger  to  health 
therefrom ; "  and  that  "  fevers  arise  from  the  decomposition  of 
vegetable,  and  not  of  animal,  matter;"  the  Committee  of  the 
second  City  Council  remark,  that  "they  have  ascertained  that 
other  physicians,  not  less  known,  of  at  least  equal  standing, 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  99 

and  as  well  deserving  of  confidence,  held  directly  contrary  opi- 
nions, in  which  they  are  supported  by  facts,  and  the  concurrence 
of  European  physicians  of  eminence ; "  from  which  the  Com- 
mittee deemed  it  at  least  doubtful,  whether  any  measure  so 
naturally  alarming,  and,  once  adopted,  if  erroneous,  so  irre- 
trievable, should  be  predicated  on  opinions  thus  equivocally  set- 
tled among  professional  men.  "  But  if,"  they  add,  "  decomposi- 
tion of  animal  matter  be  not  obnoxious,  why  require  tombs  to 
be  constructed  with  so  much  care  ?  The  physicians  most  favor- 
able to  such  grants  declare,  there  will  be  no  danger  if  the  tombs 
were  properly  built,  thereby  strongly  implying  there  would  be 
danger  if  they  are  improperly  built.  By  the  very  words  of  these 
physicians,  safety,  therefore,  depends,  not  upon  the  harmlessness 
of  the  effluvia,  but  upon  the  precautions  used.  The  declaration 
of  one  physician,  that  '  he  had  never  known  the  slightest  ofFen- 
siveness  from  tombs  under  churches,'  was  distinctly  repeUed  by 
the  deposition  of  the  sexton  of  King's  Chapel,  and  by  the  certi- 
ficate of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Freeman,  rector  of  that  church;  as  also 
by  a  letter  from  the  oldest  physician  of  the  city.  Dr.  Samuel 
Danforth,  who,  for  extensive  practice,  weight  of  professional 
character,  and  intellectual  talent,  was  second  to  no  physician  in 
it ;  and  other  certificates,  to  like  effect,  might  have  been  obtained 
from  other  physicians.  In  conclusion,  the  Committee  stated, 
that  the  evidence  of  the  noxiousness  and  danger  from  the  effluvia 
under  churches  was,  in  their  opinion,  established  beyond  ques- 
tion, and  confij-med  even  by  the  advocates  of  that  practice  ;  that 
safety  depends  upon  the  tightness  of  the  vaults ;  and  that  the  im- 
possibility of  enforcing  requisite  precautions  by  statutory  provi- 
sions was  evidenced  by  the  fact,  that  the  right  of  erecting  tombs 
under  Park  Street  and  St.  Paul's  Chm-ches  was  granted  on  the 
express  condition,  '  that  they  should  be  built  under  the  direction 
of  the  City  Council;^  yet,  strange  as  is  the  fact,  the  tombs  are 
built.)  and  no  directions  of  the  City  Council  ivere  either  asked  or 
given,  so  far,  at  least,  as  appears  by  their  records." 

The  Committee  add,  that "  a  subject  of  this  importance  should 
be  decided  without  regard  to  private  interests.  The  right  of 
being  buried  under  churches  must  necessarily  be  confined  to  a 
very  few.  It  is  not  just,  that  a  smaU  minority  of  the  population 
should  have  the  privilege  of  poisoning  the  air  for  the  gi-eat  ma- 
jority.    If  the  right  of  ancient  tombs  is  to  be  respected,  those 


100  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

rights  ought  not  to  be  multiplied  and  extended  by  the  erection 
of  new  tombs.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  official  guardians  of  states 
and  cities  to  avoid  adopting  any  policy  materially  affecting  the 
general  health  or  welfare  on  the  assumption  of  wavering  theories, 
especially  when  they  contradict  the  most  direct  intimations  of 
sense  and  reason.  Instead  of  advocating  the  burial  of  the  dead 
within  the  city,  the  great  duty  of  a  city  government  is  to  adopt 
rigidly  a  prospective  system,  which  should  ultimately,  in  some  dis- 
tant time,  exclude  burial  within  its  limits  altogether.  The  Com- 
mittee, therefore,  recommend  a  rejection  of  the  petition  of  the 
Bromfield  Street  Church;  the  prohibition  of  the  erection  of 
new  tombs  within  the  ancient  peninsula  of  Boston ;  the  adop- 
tion of '  measures  ultimately  tending  to  exclude  all  burials  here- 
after within  the  peninsula ;  and  devising  measures  for  applying 
the  only  perfect  and  satisfactory  remedy,  by  adopting  some  com- 
mon place  of  burial  for  all  the  inhabitants,  selected,  if  possible, 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  city,  but  certainly  beyond  that  of  the 
peninsula,  of  an  extent  sufficient  to  meet  the  future  exigencies 
of  the  population.  There  let  all  classes  meet  together,  and  let 
a  common  interest  in  the  place  be  fortified  and  perpetuated  by 
the  sympathies  and  affections  common  to  all,  and  thus  become 
honored,  and  protected,  and  consecrated." 

These  views  were  submitted  by  the  Committee  in  a  series  of 
resolutions,  and  adopted  by  the  City  Council. 

The  chm-ch  and  congregation  in  Bromfield  Street,  although 
denied  a  liberty  which  had  been  granted  by  the  first  City  Council 
to  the  churches  of  St.  Paul  and  Park  Street,  and  who  were  thus 
deprived  of  an  important  pecuniary  benefit,  submitted  without 
a  murmur,  and  in  a  manner  highly  honorable  and  exemplary,  to 
the  decision  of  the  City  Council. 

The  tone  and  policy  of  this  report,  made  in  1823,  have  been 
since  sanctioned  by  the  establishment  of  the  cemetery  at  Mount 
Auburn  by  an  effective  organization  of  private  citizens ;  and  if 
similar  plans  are  adopted  by  any  future  City  Council,  the  main 
design  of  the  Committee  may  be  in  time  canied  into  effect,  and 
burials  altogether  excluded  from  the  precincts  of  the  city. 

The  new  organization  of  the  city  authorities  having  rendered 
a  more  efficient  police  requisite  than  had  existed  under  the  town 
government,  an  ordinance  was  passed,  in  June,  1823,  authorizing 
the  election  and  prescribing  the  duties  of  the  city  marshal,  to 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  101 

which  office  Benjamin  Pollard  was  immediately  nominated  by 
the  Mayor,  and  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  In  con- 
stituting this  department,  a  strong  feeling  was  manifested  in  the 
Common  Council  to  retain  in  their  hands  a  concurrent  vote  in 
the  appointment  of  the  City  Marshal,  as  being  the  head  of  the 
police.  But  the  opinion  ultimately  prevailed,  that  this  officer  was 
in  fact  the  arm  of  the  executive  branch,  for  which  it  ought  to  be 
exclusively  made  responsible ;  that  a  voice  in  his  appointment, 
vested  in  the  legislative  branch,  would  essentially  and  injuriously 
affect  that  responsibility.  An  officer,  exercising  powers  and  fulfill- 
ing duties  like  those  required  of  the  City  Marshal,  ought,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  be  removed  from  all  temptation  of  fear,  on  account  of 
his  popularity.  This  office,  when  faithfully  executed,  must  often 
cross  the  interests,  and  sometimes  the  passions,  of  men  influ- 
ential in  local  spheres.  Perhaps  no  office  exposes  an  individual 
to  greater  risks  of  becoming  unpopular.  Both  from  its  conspi- 
cuousness  and  its  salary,  the  office  would  be  an  object  of  ambi- 
tion and  intrigue ;  and  that  the  difficulties  of  a  faithful  perform- 
ance of  its  duties,  from  their  minuteness,  and  the  general  and 
wide  sphere  of  action  to  which  they  were  appficable,  rendered 
such  performance  easily  susceptible  of  mistake  and  misrepresent- 
ation. These  considerations  were  conclusive  in  the  judgment  of 
the  Common  Council,  who  passed  the  bill  constituting  this  de- 
partment, fimiting  the  responsibility  of  this  officer  to  the  Board 
of  Aldermen,  on  whom  rested  the,  reciprocal  responsibility  of 
keeping  an  unworthy  officer  in  power.  The  importance  of  this 
decision  on  the  character  and  efficiency  of  this  office  cannot  be 
too  highly  estimated.  The  qualifications  of  Mr.  Pollard  for  the 
office  of  City  Marshal  were  unquestionable.  He  was  intelligent, 
well-educated,  gentlemanly  in  manners,  acquainted  with  the  laws 
and  with  mankind,  and  of  a  disposition  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  the 
office' faithfully.  It  would  not  have  been  easy  to  find  an  officer 
combining  more  requisite  qualities,  or  generally  more  acceptable. 
He  performed  the  duties  of  City  Marshal  twelve  years,  under 
four  successive  administrations,  until  his  death,  in  November, 
1835. 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

CITY  GOVERNMENT.    1823-1824. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

Measures  for  the  Suppression  of  Idleness,  Vice,  and  Crime  —  A  House  of  Cor- 
rection—  Its  Effects  —  Building  provided  for  Juvenile  Offenders  —  Its  Ee- 
sults  —  Petition  for  General  Meetings  in  Wards  —  Loans  proposed  for  City- 
Improvements  —  Theatrical  Licenses  —  Eopewalk  Lands  —  Islands  in  the 
Harbor — Conamon  Sewers. 

Peculiar  and  difficult  duties,  relative  to  idleness,  vice,  and 
crime,  devolved  upon  the  second  administration  of  the  city, 
which  led  to  measures,  during  the  six  ensuing  years,  resulting 
in  a  complete  system  of  institutions  adapted  to  their  restraint 
and  reformation. 

That  class  of  vicious  population  unavoidable  in  a  city  was, 
at  that  time,  in  Boston,  thickly  concentrated  in  a  district  at 
West  Boston.  Twelve  or  fourteen  houses  of  infamous  character 
were  openly  kept,  without  concealment  and  without  shame. 
The  chief  officer  of  the  former  police  said  to  the  Mayor,  soon 
after  his  inauguration :  "  There  are  dances  there  almost  every 
night.  The  whole  street  is  in  a  blaze  of  light  from  their  win- 
dows. To  put  them  down,  without  a  military  force,  seems  im- 
possible. A  man's  life  would  not  be  safe  who  should  attempt 
it.  The  company  consists  of  highbinders,  jail-birds,  known 
thieves,  and  miscreants,  with  women  of  the  worst  description. 
Murders,  it  is  well  known,  have  been  committed  there,  and  more 
have  been  suspected."  He  was  asked,  "  If  vice  and  villany 
were  too  strong  for  the  police?"  He  replied,  "I  think  so;  at 
least,  it  has  long  been  so  in  that  quarter."  He  was  answered,' 
"There  shall  be  at  least  a  struggle  for  the  supremacy  of  the 
laws." 

These  representations  of  the  police  officer  were  not  exagge- 
rated; but  means  of  relief  were  difficult.  A  house  of  correction, 
the  legal  instrument  of  control  for  such  offences,  had  never  ex- 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  103 

isted  in  the  town  of  Boston.  Within  the  inclosure  surrounding 
the  Almshouse  in  Leverett  Street,  there  had  been,  from  its  first 
establishment,  a  small  brick  building,  called  "  The  Bridewell ; " 
but  its  accommodations  were  too  limited  to  restrain  or  punish 
even  the  inmates  of  the  house,^  and  were  wholly  inadequate  as  a 
resource  to  come  in  aid  of  the  judicial  courts  of  the  county.  A 
sentence  to  the  House  of  Correction  was,  in  effect,  a  sentence 
of  confinement  to  the  common  jail,  where  this  class  of  offenders 
received  their  punishment,  without  means  of  labor,  and  without 
other  special  superintendence  or  moral  influence  than  tenants  of 
prisons  were  at  that  time  accustomed  to  receive,  which  was 
comparatively  none  at  aU.  It  accordingly  appears,  by  the  offi- 
cial returns  of  the  Municipal  Court,  in  the  years  1822  and 
1823,  that,  out  of  three  hundred  and  fifty-eight  sentences  to  con- 
finement, tivo  hundred  and  forty-three  were  to  the  common  jail, 
and  not  one  to  the  House  of  Correction.  It  was  obvious,  there- 
fore, that  aU  attempts  to  give  efl[iciency  to  the  moral  police  of 
the  city,  must  be  preceded  by  providing  a  house  of  correction. 

On  inspecting  the  common  jails  of  the  city,  in  Leverett  Street, 
it  was  found  that,  of  the  two  stone  prisons  there  situated,  one 
was  amply  sufficient  for  aU  the  usual  exigencies  of  the  courts  of 
justice.  It  was  determined,  therefore,  to  convert  the  other  into 
a  house  of  correction,  and  employ  the  inmates  in  the  adjoining 
jail-yard  in  hammering  stone  and  like  materials. 

Accordingly,  on  the  fourth  of  June,  1823,  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  passed  an  order  appropriating  the  North  Prison  to 
that  use,  and  appointed  the  jailer  of  the  prison  its  keeper. 

Both  the  sheriff"  and  the  jailer  opposed  this  measm-e.  Their 
objections,  representing  such  a  location  of  the  House  of  Correc- 
tion, in  the  vicinity  of  the  common  jail,  to  be  incompatible  with 
the  safety  of  the  one  institution  and  the  discipline  of  the  other, 
had  so  much  weight,  that  the  Mayor  pledged  himself,  on  behalf 
of  the  City  Council,  that  the  arrangement  should  be  temporary ; 
and,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Committee,  in  1823,  the  City 
Council,  in  December  following,  authorized  a  building,  destined 
for  a  house  of  correction,  to  be  erected  at  South  Boston. 

In  October,  1823,  the  House  of  Correction  was  organized  in 
the  North  Jail,  in  Leverett    Street,  under  the  statutes  of  the 

1  It  was  two  stories  liigli,  forty-one  feet  long,  thirty  feet  "wide,  and  contained 
twenty-four  locked  cells  and  two  other  cells. 


104  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

Commonwealth,  by  appointing  three  overseers,^  and  establishing 
rules  and  regulations  for  its  government.  A  Committee  of  the 
Board  of  Aldermen,  consisting  of  the  Mayor  and  Messrs.  Odi- 
orne  and  Child,  was  also  appointed  for  the  general  superintend- 
ence of  the  whole  subject. 

The  immediate  result  of  these  measm*es  on  the  moral  condi- 
tion of  the  city  were  thus  stated  by  the  Mayor,  in  his  inaugural 
address  to  the  City  Council,  in  May,  1824 :  — 

"  There  existed  at  the  commencement  of  last  year,  in  one  section  of  the  city, 
(West  Boston,)  an  audacious  obtrusiveness  of  vice,  notorious  and  lamentable, 
setting  at  defiance  not  only  the  decencies  of  life,  but  the  authority  of  the  laws. 
Repeated  attempts  to  subdue  this  combination  had  failed.  An  opinion  was 
entertained  by  some,  that  it  was  invincible.  There  were  those  who  recom- 
mended a  tampering  and  palliative,  rather  than  an  eradicating,  course  of  mea- 
sures. Those  intrusted  with  the  affairs  of  the  city  were  of  a  different  temper. 
The  evil  was  met  in  the  face.  In  spite  of  clamor,  of  threat,  of  insult ;  of  the 
certificates  of  those  who  were  interested  to  maintain,  or  willing  to  countenance, 
the  locating  vice  in  this  quarter,  a  determined  course  was  pursued.  The  whole 
section  was  put  imder  the  ban  of  authority.  All  licenses  in  it  were  denied.  A 
vigorous  police  was  organized,  which,  aided  by  the  courts  of  justice  and  the 
House  of  Correction,  effected  its  purpose.  For  three  months  past,  the  daily 
reports  of  our  city  officers  have  represented  that  section  as  peaceable  as  any 
other.  Those  connected  with  courts  of  justice,  both  as  ministers  and  officers, 
assert  that  the  effect  has  been  plainly  discernible  in  the  registers  of  the  jails 
and  of  prosecutions. 

"  These  measures  did  not  originate  in  any  theories  or  visions  of  ideal  purity, 
attainable  in  the  existing  state  of  human  society ;  but  in  a  single  sense  of  duty, 
and  respect  for  the  character  of  the  city ;  proceeding  upon  the  principle  that,  if 
in  great  cities  the  existence  of  vice  is  inevitable,  that  its  course  should  be 
secret,  like  other  filth,  in  drains  and  in  darkness  ;  not  obtrusive  ;  not  powerful ; 
not  prowling  pubHcly  in  the  streets  for  the  innocent  and  unwary. 

"  The  expense  by  which  this  effect  has  been  produced  has  been  somewhat 
less  than  one  thousand  dollars  ;  an  amount  already,  perhaps,  saved  to  the  com- 
munity in  the  diminution  of  the  costs  of  prosecutions,  which  an  unobstructed 
(bourse  of  vice  would  have  occasioned." 

The  records  of  the  courts  of  justice  soon  proved  that  the 
House  of  Correction  diminished  the  inmates  of  the  prison,  and 
its  establishment  was  hailed  by  those  interested  in  the  moral 
efficiency  of  the  laws,  as  an  era  in  our  municipal  history.  The 
Grand  Jury  of  the  county,  in  September,  1824,  in  their  official 
report, -expressed  ''their gratification  to  learn  that, after  a  lapse  of 

1  Thomas  Kendall,  Jonathan  Thaxtcr,  and  Edward  Dyer. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  105 

thirty-six  years,  measures  have  been  adopted  by  the  g-overnment  of 
the  city,  to  erect  a  suitable  house  for  the  confinement  and  labor  of 
those  numerous  Icivd,  idle,  and  disorderly  persons,  ivho,  by  the 
vigilance  and  faithfulness  of  the  Mayor  and  Police  Court,  are 
arrested  in  their  unlawful  careerP 

The  beneficial  results  of  the  House  of  Correction  were  also 
acknowledged  by  the  citizens  in  general  and  the  City  Council ; 
and  in  November  ensuing,  a  committee  of  both  branches  urged 
the  erection  of  a  stockade  fence  round  the  sixty  acres  attached  to 
the  House  of  Industry,  on  the  gi'ound  that  the  enclosure  would 
soon  comprehend  the  House  of  Correction,  which  had  already, 
in  its  restricted  location  in  the  North  Jail,  by  its  terrors  and  dis- 
cipline, enabled  the  city  authorities  so  to  reduce  the  number  of 
crimes  and  offences,  as  to  have  their  success  publicly  acknow- 
ledged by  the  justices  of  both  the  criminal  courts  and  the  keeper 
of  the  jail. 

In  this  report,  the  Committee  give  the  first  intimation  of  the 
intention  of  the  City  Council,  which  had,  from  the  first  esta- 
blishment of  the  House  of  CoiTcction,  been  entertained  by  the 
Mayor  and  influential  members  of  that  body,  to  make  that  insti- 
tution applicable  to  juvenile  offenders,  as  soon  as  it  had  been 
brought  into  effective  operation  at  South  Boston ;  by  its  aid  to 
clear  the  markets,  streets,  and  wharves  of  those  vagabonds,  boys, 
beggars,  and  drunkards,  who,  under  pretence  of  gaining  a  liveli- 
hood, learned  the  habits  of  begging,  stealing,  or  gambling,  and 
whose  reformation  could  not  be  effected  without  efTectual  re- 
straint. 

Although  objections  had  been  made  by  the  sheriff  and  jailer 
to  the  use  of  the  North  Jail  as  a  house  of  correction,  experience 
had  induced  the  latter  to  wish  for  its  continuance  in  that  loca- 
tion. The  Overseers  of  the  House  of  Correction  concurred  in 
this  wish,  as  its  superintendence  was  more  easy  than  at  South 
Boston.  Considerable  expenses,  also,  had  been  incurred  for  its 
establishment  in  the  North  Prison,  which  would  be  lost  by  a 
removal.  The  impending  great  debt  of  the  city,  consequent  on 
the  extension  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market,  was  also  brought  forward 
to  obstruct  further  appropriations.  An  opposition  was  thus 
raised,  which  neither  influence  nor  argument  could  overcome ; 
and  after  the  building  for  the  House  of  Correction  at  South 
Boston  had  been  finished,  it  was  permitted  to  lay  unoccupied 


106  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

for  more  than  a  year,  so  satisfactory  had  the  result  of  the  experi- 
ment of  its  establishment  in  the  North  Jail  proved. 

All  attempts  for  a  removal  of  the  House  of  Correction  to 
South  Boston  thus  being  for  a  time  ineffectual,  a  design  was 
formed  to  place  in  the  edifice  erected  for  it  an  establishment  for 
the  reformation  of  juvenile  offenders.  Accordingly,  on  the  nine- 
teenth of  January,  1826,  a  Committee  of  the  City  Council,  com- 
posed of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Oliver  and  Loring,  and  Messrs. 
Stevenson,  Boies,  and-Grosvenor,  of  the  Common  Council,  was 
appointed  to  consider  the  whole  subject;  and,  on  the  ninth  of 
February,  the  Committee  made  a  report,  stating  the  importance 
of  the  design  ;  the  inadequacy  of  a  voluntary  association,  should 
it  be  formed  for  that  purpose ;  that,  although  such  a  house,  from 
its  nature,  ought  to  be  supported  from  the  resources  of  the  w^hole 
community,  there  was  no  reasonable  cause  of  expectation  that 
it  would  be  estabhshed  by  the  State.  The  evU  being  chiefly  felt 
in  great  cities,  the  remedy,  it  was  deemed,  devolved  on  the 
municipal  authorities ;  and  that,  if  a  house  for  the  reformation 
of  juvenile  offenders  was  thought  necessary,  it  could  only  be 
effected  by  the  power  or  means  of  the  city. 

The  Committee  then  stated  the  causes  and  various  considera- 
tions which  had  unavoidably  postponed,  for  a  time,  the  removal 
of  the  House  of  Correction  to  the  edifice  erected  at  South 
Boston,  although  the  growth  of  the  city  would  render  its  future 
transfer  inevitable.  In  this  buUding,  the  experiment  of  a  house 
for  the  reformation  of  juvenile  offenders  might  therefore  be  made, 
with  little  comparative  expense. 

The  City  Council  immediately  concurred  in  these  views,  and 
authorized  an  application  to  the  legislature  of  the  State  for  the 
requisite  powers,  which  were  granted  to  the  City  Council,  by  an 
act  passed  in  March,  1826.  Under  this  act  of  the  legislature, 
the  east  wing  of  the  building  at  South  Boston,  originally  in- 
tended for  a  house  of  correction,  was  authorized  to  be  used  for 
the  reception  of  juvenile  offenders,  and  the  Directors  of  the 
House  of  Industry  appointed  Directors  of  the  new  institution. 
The  arrangements  for  carrying  it  into  effect  were  made  under 
the  disadvantages  incident  to  the  circumstances  under  which  it 
was  commenced.  There  was  far  from  being  a  universal  concur- 
rence in  the  design,  either  in  the  City  Council  or  among  the 
citizens.     The  expenditures  were  immediate  and  considerable; 


CITY   GOVERNINIENT.  107 

the  advantage  distant  and  problematical.  Many  were  of  opi- 
nion that  it  ought  to  be  supported  by  the  resources  of  the  State, 
and  not  of  the  city.  It  was  an  experiment,  and  its  success 
necessarily  depended  upon  the  qualifications  of  the  superintend- 
ent, among  which  zeal  and  entire  devotion  to  the  service  are 
indispensable.  Difficulties  also  occun-ed  from  tender-hearted 
philanthropists,  who  regarded  the  length  and  nature  of  the  re- 
straint as  severe,  notwithstanding  the  boys  were  committed  by 
a  court  of  justice  for  serious  offences.  Parents,  also,  who  had 
been  deprived  of  the  services  of  their  sons,  made  complaints 
and  attempts  for  their  discharge.  During  the  first  eighteen 
months,  the  institution  had  about  seventy  inmates,  from  nine  to 
eighteen  years  of  age  ;  but  its  friends,  not  being  entirely  satisfied 
with  its  success,  determined  to  prove  the  efficacy  of  the  institu- 
tion by  unquestionable  results,  or  recommend  its  abandonment 
altogether.  Happily,  in  November,  1827,  the  Rev.  E.  M.  P. 
Wells  was  appointed  the  chaplain  and  superintendent;  and 
entered  on  the  duties  of  his  station  with  the  spirit  and  energy 
characteristic  of  a  vigorous  mind,  a  resolved  purpose,  and  a 
heart  zealous  and  devoted  to  the  objects  of  the  institution.  By 
constant  supervision,  kind  treatment,  friendly  advice,  and  sti'ict 
requirement  of  obedience,  he  dispensed  with  the  use  of  the 
whip  and  solitary  confinement  for  punishments,  except  in  highly 
aggravated  offences.  He  encouraged  each  individual,  as  he 
rose  in  the  moral  scale,  by  privileges,  and  subjected  him  to  pri'- 
vations,  if  he  fell  in  it.  Strictness  without  severity,  love  with- 
out indulgence,  were  the  elements  of  his  system  of  manage- 
ment ;  regarding  the  juvenile  delinquents  rather  as  "  sinned 
against  than  sinning,"  both  by  parents  and  society.  To  secure 
perfect  purity  and  order,  he  submitted  to  the  inconvenience  of 
sleeping  in  a  large  hall,  with  the  key  under  his  pillow,  in  the 
midst  of  sixty,  and,  at  times,  a  hundred  boys,  each  in  a  single 
bed;  several  of  them  possessing  physical  strength  little,  if  any, 
inferior  to  his  own.  He  held  the  office  five  years,  and  produced 
results  sufficient  to  prove  the  value  and  receive  the  reward,  in 
consciousness  of  fulfilled  duty,  of  such  efficiency  and  self-devo- 
tion. During  this  period,  the  annual  admission  averaged  sLd//- 
two;  the  number  in  the  house  usually  was  one  hundred  and 
twenty ;  at  one  time  it  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  tioenty-nine. 


108  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

The  annual  average  disdiSLrge  was  Jifti/six ;  and  the  whole  num- 
ber over  which  his  care  was  extended  was  four  hundred  and  four- 
teen. Four  tenths  of  these  juvenile  offenders  were  sent  to  the 
institution  under  the  vagi-ant  act ;  three  tenths  for  larceny,  for- 
gery, and  other  crimes ;  three  tenths  for  stubbornness  and  disobe- 
dience. They  came,  almost  without  exception,  ignorant,  lazy, 
vicious,  repulsive  and  disgusting  in  external  appearance.  The 
work  of  improvement  was  general  and  thorough.  After  from  two 
to  five  years'  subjection  to  the  discipline  of  the  institution,  expe- 
rience showed  that  five  sixths  of  those  discharged  by  .Mr.  Wells 
might  be  considered  reformed.  They  were  readily  received  as  ap- 
prentices by  respectable  farmers,  mechanics,  masters  of  vessels, 
and  gave  evidence,  by  their  general  conduct,  of  becoming  use- 
ful, prosperous,  and  virtuous  members  of  the  community.  The 
excellence  of  the  institution,  and  the  high  merits  of  the  super- 
intendent, were  universally  acknowledged ;  and  a  just  and  well- 
deserved  tribute  to  both  was  paid  by  Messrs.  Beaumont  and  De 
Tocqueville,  Counsellors  of  the  Royal  Court  of  Paris,  who  came 
in  1832  to  this  country,  as  French  commissioners,  to  inquire  into 
the  penitentiary  systems  of  the  United  States.  In  their  report 
they  state,  that  the  Institution  for  the  Reformation  of  Juvenile 
Offenders  at  South  Boston  is  "  admirably  conducted ;  but  its 
success  seems  to  us  less  the  effect  of  the  system  itself,  than 
of  the  distinguished  man  who  puts  it  in  practice,"  who  "  exhi- 
bits a  zeal  and  a  vigilance  altogether  extraordinary,  which  it 
would  be  a  mistake  to  expect  in  general  from  persons  most 
devoted  to  their  duties." 

The  system  of  Mr.  "Wells,  comprising,  as  it  does,  all  the  essen- 
tial and  practical  elements  requisite  for  a  sound  moral,  physical, 
and  intellectual  education,  deserves  the  attentive  consideration 
of  the  superintendents  of  all  institutions  for  the  reformation  of 
the  ignorant  and  vicious ;  but,  like  all  systems  of  government, 
will  be  proportionably  successful  as  the  individual  who  conducts 
it  is  qualified,  by  talents  and  devotedness,  for  the  task  he  under- 
takes. 

In  respect  of  the  general  effect  produced  by  the  House  of 
Industry,  the  House  of  Correction,  and  that  for  the  Reformation 
of  Juvenile  Offenders,  on  the  relations  of  poverty,  vice,  and  crime, 
in  the  city  of  Boston,  the  Mayor,  in  his  address  on  taking  a  final 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  109 

leave  of  the  office  of  Mayor,  which  he  had  held  for  nearly  six 
years,  made  the  following  statement,  in  January,  1829 :  — 

"  In  respect  of  what  has  been  done  in  support  of  public  morals,  when  this 
administration  first  came  into  power,  the  police  had  no  comparative  eifect;  the 
city  possessed  no  house  of  correction,  and  the  natiu-al  inmates  of  that  establisli- 
ment  were  on  our  '  hills,'  or  on  our  commons,  disgusting  the  delicate,  odcnding 
the  good,  and  intimidating  the  fearful.  There  were  parts  of  the  city  over  which 
no  honest  man  dared  to  pass  in  the  night  time,  so  jiroud  and  uncontrolled  was 
there  the  dominion  of  crime.  The  executive  of  the  city  was  seriously  advised 
not  to  meddle  with  those  haunts,  their  reformation  being  a  task  altogether 
impracticable. 

"  It  was  attempted.  The  success  is  known.  Wlio,  at  this  day,  sees  begging 
in  our  streets  ?  I  speak  generally ;  a  transient  case  may  occur,  but  there  is 
none  systematic.  At  this  day,  I  speak  it  confidently,  there  is  no  part  of  the 
city  through  which  the  most  timid  may  not  walk,  by  day  or  by  night,  without 
fear  of  personal  violence.  ^^Tiat  streets  present  more  stillness  in  the  night  time  ? 
Where,  in  a  city  of  equal  population,  are  there  fewer  instances  of  those  crimes, 
to  which  all  populous  places  are  subject  ? 

"  Doubtless  much  of  this  condition  of  things  is  owing  to  the  orderly  habits  of 
our  citizens ;  but  much,  also,  is  attributable  to  the  vigilance  which  has  made  vice 
tremble  in  its  haunts,  and  fly  to  cities  where  the  air  is  more  congenial  to  it ; 
which,  by  pursuing  the  lawless  vendor  of  spirituous  liquors,  denying  licenses  to 
the  worst  of  that  class,  or  revoking  them,  as  soon  as  found  in  improper  hands, 
has  checked  crime  in  its  first  stages,  and  introduced  into  these  estabhshments  a 
salutary  fear.  By  the  effect  of  this  system,  notwithstanding,  in  these  six  years, 
the  population  of  the  city  has  been  increased  at  least  fifteen  thousand,  the  num- 
ber of  licensed  houses  have  been  diminished  from  six  hundred  and  seventy-nine 
to  five  hundred  and  fifty-four. 

"  Let  it  be  remembered,  that  this  state  of  things  has  been  effected  without ' 
the  addition  of  one  man  to  the  ancient  arm  of  the  police.  The  name  of  the 
police  officer  has,  indeed,  been  changed  to  city  marshal.  The  venerable  old 
charter  number,  of  twentyfour  constables,  still  continues  the  entire  array  of  the 
city  police.  And  eighty  watchmen,  of  whom  never  more  than  eighteen  are  out 
at  a  time,  constitute  the  whole  nocturnal  host  of  police  militant,  to  maintain  the 
peace  and  vindicate  the  wrongs  of  upwards  of  sixty  thousand  citizens. 

"  The  good  which  has  been  attained,  and  no  man  can  deny  it  is  great,  has 
been  effected  by  directing  unremittingly  the  force  of  the  executive  power  to 
the  haunts  of  vice,  in  its  first  stages,  and  to  the  favorite  resorts  of  ci'ime,  in 
its  last. 

"  To  diminish  the  number  of  licensed  dram-shops  and  tippllng-houses ;  to 
keep  a  vigilant  eye  over  those  which  are  licensed ;  to  revoke,  without  fear  or 
favor,  the  licenses  of  those  who  were  found  violating  the  law;  to  break  up 
public  dances  in  the  brothels  :  to  keep  the  light  and  terrors  of  the  law  directed 
upon  the  resorts  of  the  lawless,  thereby  preventing  any  place  becoming  danger- 
ous by  their  congi-egatlon,  or  they  and  their  associates  becoming  insolent,  through 
sense  of  strength  and  numbers.  These  have  been  the  means ;  and  these  means, 
faithfully  appUed,  are  better  than  armies  of  constables  and  watchmen." 
10 


110  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

On  the  third  of  January,  1825,  a  petition  by  fifty  qualified 
voters  was  presented  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  for  the  calling  a 
meeting  of  the  citizens  in  wards,  to  consider  the  expediency  of 
having  twelve  aldermen  chosen  in  each  ward  instead  of  eight. 
The  doubts  entertained  concerning  the  authority  to  caU  meetings 
of  citizens  in  ivards  on  subjects  of  this  nature,  were  freely  stated 
to  the  leading  petitioners.  It  was  found,  however,  that  they  dis- 
regarded those  doubts,  and  placed  their  claim  for  such  a  meeting 
on  the  basis  of  right,  and  denied  the  authority  of  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  to  refuse,  under  the  language  of  the  city  charter,  to  call 
any  meeting  of  citizens  petitioned  for  hj  fifty  individuals.  As  the 
proceedings  on  this  application  might  form  a  precedent  for  future 
times,  the  subject  was  deemed  important  enough  to  be  referred 
to  a  special  committee,  the  Mayor  being  chairman,  who,  after 
deliberate  consideration,  made  a  report,  of  which  the  following 
were  the  leading  features,  —  that  the  question  on  this  petition  did 
not  turn  on  the  general  authority  of  the  Board  to  call  meetings 
of  citizens,  either  in  wards  or  in  any  other  way  which  they  may 
deem  most  expedient  for  the  general  interest  or  local  convenience ; 
such,  for  instance,  as  calling  a  meeting  in  wards  to  choose  a 
vaccinating  committee ;  but  the  petition  was  for  a  very  differ- 
ent object,  namely,  —  ^'■the  taking  the  sense  of  the  citizens  on  an 
application  to  the  Legislature  for  an  amendment  of  the  city  charter, 
on  the  requisition  of  more  than  fifty  qualified  voters,  and  it  prays 
that  the  meeting  for  this  purpose  shall  he  holden  in  ivards ;  "  that 
the  city  charter  in  its  twenty-fifth  section,  specifically  provides 
for  three  cases,  in  which,  on  the  requisition  of  fifty  qualified 
voters,  it  is  imperative  on  the  Board  of  Aldermen  to  call  a  gene- 
ral meeting  of  citizens,  and  these  are,  —  1st.  Consultation  on  the 
common  good.  2d.  Giving  instructions  to  representatives.  3d. 
Taldng  measm-es  for  redress  of  grievances.  That  the  petition  in 
this  case  was  unquestionable,  on  subjects  specifically  included  in 
the  above  enumeration,  for  which  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Mayor, 
and  Aldermen  to  caU  a  general  meeting  of  the  citizens,  if  that 
would  be  satisfactory  to  the  petitioners.  But  the  claim  being 
that  the  meeting  should  be  in  wards,  the  Board  decided,  that 
they  had  "  no  right,  on  the  requisition  of  any  number  of  qualified 
voters,  by  any  authority  derived  from  the  charter,  to  call  any 
meeting  other  than  a  general  meeting  for  any  of  the  objects  spe- 
cified in  the  twenty-fifth  section  of  that  charter  ;  "  that  this  sec- 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  HI 

Hon  had  express  reference  to  the  right  secured  to  the  people  by 
the  constitution  of  this  Commonwealth  to  assemble,  which  it  was 
intended  to  secure  according  to  ancient  usage;  and  which  had 
always  been  exercised  in  a  "  general  meeting,"  and  not  in  ward 
or  sectional  meetings.  The  nature  of  the  subjects  provided  for 
by  this  section,  is  conclusive  against  the  right  of  the  Board  of 
Aldermen.  The  questions  to  which  their  authority  in  this 
respect  extends,  are  of  the  most  grave  and  weighty  character, 
such  as  affect  the  common  g-ood.  Instructions  to  representatives,  or 
redress  of  grievances,  are  subjects  which  ought  to  be  discussed 
in  general  meetings,  that  every  citizen  may  have  the  advan- 
tage of  the  counsel  and  intelligence  of  every  other  citizen  on  a 
subject  of  general  and  common  interest.  The  report,  therefore, 
concluded  that  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  had  no  right  to  call  a 
general  meeting  of  the  citizens  in  wards  for  any  of  the  purposes 
specified  in  the  petition.  This  report  was  accepted,  and  ordered 
to  be  published  in  three  of  the  public  newspapers,  for  the  inform- 
ation of  the  citizens. 

In  November,  1823,  the  Mayor,  by  message,  recommended  a 
consideration  of  the  expediency  of  providing,  by  some  general 
system,  of  loans,  payable  by  instalments,  incurred  for  objects  of 
permanent  improvements,  in  which  posterity  were  generally  and 
chiefly  interested.  The  motives  for  this  suggestion  were  stated 
to  be  the  rapidly  increasing  population  of  the  city,  the  propor- 
tionate increase  of  building,  involving,  as  a  consequence,  a  rapid, 
increase  in  the  value  of  lands ;  that  it  was  impossible  for  the 
Surveyors  of  Highways  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunities 
daily  occurring  for  widening  and  extending  streets,  without 
exceeding  existing  appropriations,  and  without  throwing  upon 
the  current  year  burdens  greater  than  was  just  and  reasonable, 
at  the  same  time  that  it  would  be  the  worst  species  of  economy 
to  suffer  opportunities  to  pass  unimproved,  which  may  not 
occur  again  for  many  years,  and,  possibly,  never ;  or  should 
they  occur,  could  not  be  availed  of  but  at  an  expense  many 
times  exceeding  that  at  which  they  now  could  be  made,  arising 
from  the  certain  gi-eat  increase  of  the  value  of  land  resulting 
from  increasing  population.  As  it  respected  posterity,  there- 
fore, the  question  was  between  a  light,  pecuniary  burden  of 
accruing  interest  and  a  heavy  tax  for  improvements,  which  time 
would  show  to  be  unavoidable,  together  with  narrow  streets  and 


112  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

other  inconvenient  localities,  which  the  value  of  the  land  may 
hereafter  render  impossible  to  change,  but  which  now  might  be 
obtained  with  little  comparative  expense  ;  all  that  seemed  requi- 
site was,  that  limitations  should  be  adopted  to  guard  against 
excess  and  abuse  of  this  power. 

The  message  was  referred  to  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  Baxter, 
Odiorne,  and  Hooper,  and  in  the  Common  Council  to  Messrs. 
Amory,  E.  Williams,  Savage,  Shaw,  and  Lamson.  After  delibe- 
ration, the  Committee  came  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  appre- 
hension of  a  city  debt,  and  the  difficulty  of  preventing  such  a 
system  in  after  time  from  abuse,  were  considerations  sufficient 
to  counterbalance  the  certain  expediency  of  the  measm-e,  in  its 
pecuniary  effects  on  the  cost  of  improvements  in  the  city. 

The  terms  and  conditions  on  which  theatrical  and  other  licenses 
should  be  gi-anted,  had  been  absolutely  vested  in  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  by  the  city  charter.  It  was  important  J;hat  the  ffi-st 
steps  taken  should  be  firm  and  just  and  well  considered,  that 
correct  precedents  should  be  established. 

A  committee,  of  which  the  Mayor  was  chairman,  was  early 
raised,  and,  after  great  deliberation,  reported  that  licenses  were 
divisible  into  classes  ;  the  principles  applicable  to  each  were  differ- 
ent, according  to  their  respective  natm-es  ;  that  the  licenses  of 
theatres  were  of  all  the  most  important,  and  to  be  viewed,  in 
respect  of  morals  and  finance.  The  tendency  of  theatrical  exhi- 
bitions to  draw  money  from  the  community,  and  their  effect  on 
morals  rendered  them  proper  subjects,  not  only  of  revenue,  but 
also  of  regulation,  in  respect  of  morals.  The  tax  upon  them 
ought  to  have  reference  to  the  advantage  gained  by  such  license. 
Where  the  effect  upon  morals  is  unquestionably  bad,  they  should 
be  denied  altogether.  Where,  as  in  the  case  of  theatrical  exhibi- 
tions, the  good  is,  to  say  the  least,  dubious,  it  is  a  reason  for 
raising  the  tax  for  the  license,  to  such  a  degi-ee  as,  if  possible,  to 
reduce  the  disposition  to  multiply  them,  by  diminishing  the 
resulting  benefit,  thereby  securing  as  great  a  respectability  as  the 
case  permits,  both  in  the  character  of  such  exhibitions,  and  also 
of  those  who  engage  in  such  employments.  Two  principles 
applicable  to  the  subject  result :  —  1st.  That  the  tax  should  be 
considerable;  and  2d.  That  it  should  be  uniform;  that  the 
amount  of  the  tax  should  not  depend  on  the  expenditures 
incmTed  to  set  forth  the  exhibition,  and  stilliess  on  the  smallness 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  113 

of  the  sum  demanded  for  visiting  them.  The  injury  to  morals 
is  often  great,  in  a  direct  ratio  to  the  smallness  of  such  expendi- 
ture and  of  such  demand.  It  is  the  duty  of  a  municipal  author- 
ity, in  the  exercise  of  such  power,  to  encourage  a  respectable  and 
responsible  theatrical  establishment.  Such  an  one  cannot  long 
be  upheld  in  any  community,  if  every  light,  vagrant,  and  irre- 
sponsible company  be  encouraged  to  compete  with  it,  on  the 
suggestion  that  its  pretensions  were  less,  and  its  facilities  for 
public  attraction  greater.  With  the  same  views,  bonds  of  secu- 
rity proportioned  to  the  object,  with  responsible  freeholders  as 
bondmen,  should  be  required  to  conduct  the  exhibition  with  deco- 
rum. It  should  not  be  permitted,  in  connection  with  any  licensed 
tavern,  or  house  for  the  sale  of  spirituous  liquors.  At  that 
period,  however,  a  license  to  sell  them  within  the  walls  of  the 
theatre  during  performance  was  deemed  indispensable ;  an  opi- 
nion that  increasing  moral  influences  of  later  times  has  happily 
and  effectually  changed. 

This  report  was  accepted,  and  the  votes  it  recommended 
passed,  —  making  the  licenses  annual,  the  tax  seven  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  the  bonds  required  to  be  five  thousand  dollars. 

In  January,  1826,  a  vote  passed  the  City  Council,  that  what- 
ever number  of  constables  or  police  officers  the  Mayor  and  Alder- 
men shall  see  fit  to  appoint  for  the  preservation  of  order  and  deco- 
rum in  any  house  where  theatrical  or  any  other  exhibition  or 
public  show  shall  be  licensed  or  had,  or  in  the  vicinity  thereof,' 
the  managers,  proprietors,  or  owners  of  such  exhibition  or  show 
shall  be  liable  to  pay  such  expense,  and  the  making  such  pay- 
ment shall  be  inserted  as  one  of  the  conditions  of  any  bond  for 
such  license. 

Between  Charles  Street  and  the  Basin  of  the  Boston  and 
Roxbury  Milldam,  there  lay  a  large  and  valuable  tract  of  land, 
known  by  the  name  of  "  the  Ropewalk  Lands,"  which,  from  its 
local:  position,  its  extent,  its  capacity  of  improvement,  either  for 
ornament  or  revenue,  was  one  of  the  most  important  interests  of 
the  city.  This  tract  had  been  granted  by  the  town  of  Boston,  in 
the  year  1794,  to  certain  proprietors  of  ropewalks,  situated  betAveen 
Pearl  and  Atkinson  Streets,  which  had  been  that  year  destroyed 
by  fire.  The  grant  was  conditional,  and  had  a  double  motive ; 
sympathy  for  the  sufferers,  and  the  removal  of  the  ropewalks  to  a 
distance  from  the  then  settled  parts  of  the  town  ;  to  whose  safety 

10* 


114  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

such  an  accumulated  mass  of  combustible  materials  was  deemed 
dangerous.  This  land  was  marsh,  or  flats,  overflowed  at  high 
tides  by  the  sea,  with  the  exception  of  an  inconsiderable  eleva- 
tion, called  "  Fox  Hill,"  which  was  chiefly  valued  as  a  resource 
for  gravel  for  town  purposes.  The  town,  in  its  grant  to  the  suffer- 
ers, by  the  fire  in  September,  1794,  denominated  it  "  a  piece  of 
marsh  land  and  flats,  at  the  bottom  of  the  Common,  including 
such  parts  of  '  Fox  HiU  '  as  shall  fall  within  the  prescribed  bound- 
aries ; "  the  street  now  called  "  Charles  Street,"  not  being  at  that 
time  laid  out,  and  these  flats  being  regarded  as  the  boundary  of 
the  Common.  The  grant  was  made  under  circumstances  of  great 
general  feeling  and  excitement,  and  without  sufficient  considera- 
tion of  its  actual  intrinsic  value  and  of  probable  prospective  con- 
sequences. The  rights  granted  were  indeed  limited  and  qualified, 
but  they  were  in  their  nature  perpetual,  and  could  only  be  devested 
by  compromise.  The  rope  walks  built  upon  this  tract  had  been 
again  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  proprietors  themselves  began  to 
realize  both  the  danger  of  rebuilding  five  or  six  long  walks  of 
wood  in  the  vicinity  of  each  other,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  build- 
ings, which  the  increasing  population  of  the  city  were  erecting  in 
theu"  neighborhood.  Realizing  also  the  great  value  of  the  pro- 
perty, they  had,  in  the  year  1822,  proposed  to  the  first  City 
Council  to  negotiate  for  either  the  purchase  or  the  sale  of  the 
lands  which  the  ropewalks  had  occupied ;  offering  thu'ty  thou- 
sand dollars  for  a  quitclaim  from  the  city,  or  to  release  their 
right  to  the  whole  tract,  on  the  payment  of  eighty-six  thousand 
dollars.  ^ 

In  May,  1823,  these  proprietors  petitioned  to  the  second  admi- 
nistration of  the  city  for  deeds  or  a  settlement  of  those  lands,  and 
a  Committee,  consisting  of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Odiorne,  Dorr, 
and  Eddy,  was  appointed,  and  reported  that  the  interests  of 
those  proprietors  ought  to  be  purchased  by  the  city,  and  that  no 
delay  ought  to  occur  in  making  a  settlement  of  that  concern. 
Those  interests  were  now  in  few  hands,  but  would,  probably,  by 
death,  transfer,  or  legal  process,  soon  become  subdivided,  and 
should  they  fall  into  the  hands  of  minors,  great  difficulties  might 
arise  to  the  reinvesting  the  title,  free  of  all  incumbrance,  in  the 
city.  The  Committee  recommended  a  reference  of  the  respect- 
ive claims  to  discreet  and  confidential  persons,  who  should  de- 
cide  the  amount  the  city  should  pay  to  the  proprietors  of  the 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  115 

ropewallvs  for  their  interest  in  the  tract,  and  that  both  the  city 
and  the  proprietors  should  be  bound  by  their  decision.  After 
great  deUberation  and  considerable  difficulty,  the  report  was 
accepted  by  both  the  City  Council  and  the  proprietors.  The 
reference  resulted  in  an  award,  that  the  title  of  the  proprietors 
should  be  invested  in  the  city,  on  the  payment  of  fifty -five  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  referees  mutually  chosen  were, —  Patrick 
T.  Jackson,  Ebenezer  Francis,  Edward  Cruft,  Peter  C.  Brooks, 
and  John  P.  Thorndike,  citizens  greatly  distinguished  for  their  in- 
telligence, probity,  judgment,  and  acquaintance  with  real  estate ; 
and  although  some  opposition  was  made  to  the  acceptance  of 
the  award  by  one  of  the  proprietors,  all  the  others  accepted  it,  and 
the  result  finally  reinvested  in  the  city,  free  of  all  incumbrance, 
that  great  an<i  valuable  tract  of  land  relieved  of  all  the  embarrass- 
ments which  the  complicated  state  of  the  title  had  occasioned. 

The  situation  of  that  tract,  and  its  connection  with  the  health, 
ornament,  and  other  interests  of  the  city,  rendered  the  future  dis- 
position of  it  a  subject  of  immediate  excitement  among  the  citi- 
zens. Some  contended  that  these  lands  were  too  important  to 
be  left  unproductive,  and  that  they  should  at  once  be  put  in  a 
state  to  be  sold.  Others  asserted  that  those  lands  were  appm"te- 
nant  to  "  the  Common."  And  although  being  flats,  and  usually 
covered  with  water,  they  had  never  been  embraced  within  the 
general  idea  of  "  the  Common,"  yet  they  in  fact  made  part  of  it, 
and,  by  the  terms  of  the  city  charter,  the  City  Council  was' 
expressly  excluded  from  the  power  of  either  lease  or  sale  of  the 
Common  ;  and  that  neither  could  be  done  without  the  sanction 
of  all  the  citizens.  The  City  Council  deemed  it  most  prudent  to 
act  in  conformity  with  this  last  opinion  ;  and  to  put  an  end  to 
controversy,  which  was  increasing  in  the  city  on  the  subject,  they 
called  a  general  meeting  of  the  citizens  on  the  twenty-sixth  of 
July,  1824,  and  required  their  opinion  to  be  expressed  upon  the 
tw^a  following  questions.  First,  shall  the  City  Council  have 
authority  to  make  sale  of  all  the  lands  west  of  Charles  Street,  in 
such  way  and  on  such  terms  as  they  shall  deem  expedient  ? 
Second,  shall  they  have  authority  to  annex  it,  as  a  condition  to 
such  sales,  that  all  the  lands  generally  known  by  the  name  of 
"the  Common,"  and  lying  between  Park,  Common,  Boylston, 
Charles,  and  Beacon  Streets,  shall  be  kept  forever  open  and  free 
from  building  for  the  use  of  the  citizens  ? 


116  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

At  this  meeting,  a  large  committee  was  appointed  by  the  citi- 
zens, of  which  John  T.  Apthorp  was  chosen  chakman.  This 
Committee,  after  many  meetings  and  long  deliberation,  made,  in 
October  following,  a  report,  setting  forth  the  inexpediency  of 
selling  the  land  west  of  Charles  Street,  denying  the  power  of 
selling  it  under  the  city  charter,  and  declaring  the  duty  of  keeping 
the  space  open  for  a  free  circulation  of  air  from  the  west,  for  the 
sake  of  the  health  of  the  citizens.  This  report,  which  concludes 
with  submitting  three  other  questions  for  the  decision  of  the  citi- 
zens, in  addition  to  those  submitted  by  the  City  Council,  was 
published  and  distributed,  and  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  Decem- 
ber, 1824,  the  five  questions  ^  were  all  negatived  by  great  major- 
ities, except  the  second,  which  passed  in  the  affirmative,  by  a 
majority  of  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  eleven,  to  seven  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven  in  the  negative.  The  result  of  the  meeting 
was  to  deny  the  expediency  and  withhold  the  right  from  the 
City  Council  of  making  sale  of  the  land  west  of  Charles  Street. 

In  November,  1823,  the  Mayor  called  the  attention  of  the 
City  Council  to  the  importance  of  securing  Deer  and  Rainsford 

1  The  five  questions  submitted  by  the  Committee  were  the  following :  — 

First  Question.  Shall  the  City  Council  have  authority  to  make  sale  of  all  the 
txpland  and  flats  owned  by  the  city,  lying  west  of  Charles  Street,  on  such  terms 
and  at  such  times  as  they  may  deem  expedient  ? 

Second  Question.  Shall  they  have  authority  to  annex  it,  as  a  condition  to 
such  sales,  that  the  land  known  by  the  name  of  the  Common,  and  lying  between 
Charles,  Beacon,  Park,  Common,  and  Boylston  Streets,  shall  be  forever  after 
kept  open  and  free  of  buildings  of  any  kind,  for  the  use  of  the  citizens  ? 

TJiird  Question.  Shall  the  City  Council  be  authorized  to  bring  the  question 
of  boundaries  between  the  city  and  the  Boston  and  Roxbury  Mill  Corporation 
to  a  settlement,  and  for  that  purpose  be  authorized  to  renew  or  confirm  the  former 
grants  and  acts  of  the  town,  with  respect  to  said  corporation,  on  such  terms  and 
conditions  as  the  City  Council  may  deem  expedient :  Provided  that  no  confirm- 
ation or  conveyance  be  made  in  virtue  of  their  vote,  to  authorize  the  erection  of 
dwelling  houses  or  other  buildings  on  any  part  of  the  premises  ? 

Fourth  Question.  Shall  the  City  Council  be  authorized  to  prepare  for  sale, 
and  to  convey  on  such  terms  and  conditions  as  they  may  deem  fit,  so  much  of  the 
upland  and  flats  as  lay  southerly  of  a  line  beginning  at  a  point  on  Charles  Street, 
thirteen  hundred  and  fifty  feet  southerly  from  the  dam  belonging  to  the  Boston 
and  Roxbury  Mil  Corporation,  and  opposite  to  the  southwesterly  corner  of  the 
Common,  and  running  westerly  at  an  angle  of  eighty-five  degrees  with  Charles 
Street  to  the  bounds  of  the  city  flats :  Provided  there  be  annexed  to  all  such 
conveyances  a  condition  that  the  Common  and  all  the  upland  and  flats  lying 
westerly  therefrom  shall  forever  after  be  kept  free  from,  and  unincumbered  with 
all  buildings  ? 

Fifth  Question.  Shall  the  City  Council,  whenever,  in  their  opinion,  the  con- 
venience of  the  inhabitants  require,  be  authorized  to  lay  out  any  part  of  the 
lands  and  flats,  lying  westerly  from  the  Common,  for  a  cemetery,  and  erect  and 
sell  tombs  therein,  on  such  terms  and  conditions  as  they  may  deem  proper  ? 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  117 

Islands  from  the  inroads  of  the  sea.  The  Mayor,  Aldermen 
Child  and  Benjamin,  and  Messrs.  Coolidge,  Wilkinson,  and  Oliver, 
of  the  Common  Council,  were  in  consequence  appointed  a  Com- 
mittee on  that  subject,  who  reported  on  the  nineteenth  of  Novem- 
ber that  an  examination  of  those  islands,  in  company  with  Com- 
modore Bainbridge  and  General  Dearborn,  and  with  other  gentle- 
men skilled  in  maritime  concerns,  and  particularly  acquainted  with 
the  influence  of  tempests  and  cm-rents  on  the  harbor  of  Boston, 
had  resulted  in  a  conviction  of  the  importance  of  taking  imme- 
diate measures  to  secui'e  them  from  the  inroads  of  the  sea.  Its 
action  had,  during  late  years,  done  great  injury,  by  gradually 
washing  them  away,  and  thus  filling  up  and  shifting  the  present 
channels,  and  diminishing  the  protection  derived  from  the  bluffs 
and  headlands  to  the  great  roadsteads  of  the  outer  and  inner 
harbor.  The  operation  of  these  causes,  if  not  attended  to  in  sea- 
son, threatened  to  change  one  of  the  safest,  most  commodious, 
and  beautiful  harbors  in  the  world,  into  a  sightless,  insecm-e  suc- 
cession of  sand  banks  ;  the  Committee,  therefore,  recommended 
an  efficient  and  immediate  apphcation  to  the  National  Legisla- 
ture for  an  appropriation  for  the  preservation  of  all  the  important 
points,  on  which  the  safety  and  convenience  of  the  harbor,  and 
the  consequent  commercial  prosperity  depended.  They  suggested 
the  erecting  of  a  breakwater,  and  the  obtaining  from  the  Legis- 
lature a  law,  prohibiting  the  taking  away  ballast  from  any  of  the 
islands.  This  report  was  accepted,  and  the  Mayor,  Aldermen' 
Child  and  Benjamin,  the  President  (Wells)  and  Messrs,  Savage, 
Oliver,  and  Dexter,  of  the  Common  Council,  were  appointed  a 
Committee  to  carry  it  into  effect. 

On  the  eighth  of  December,  1823,  the  Mayor  brought  also 
before  the  City  Council  the  importance  of  the  immediate  pur- 
chase of  George's  and  Lovell's  Islands,  the  former  being,  in  the 
opinion  of  men  of  great  nautical  skill,  the  bulwark  of  Boston 
Harbor,  both  as  being  the  best  site  for  a  fortress,  and  as  affording 
the  only  secm-e  anchorage  in  the  lower  harbor  for  ships  of  war 
and  vessels  of  every  size  and  description,  during  easterly  gales, 
when  without  a  pilot.  He  had  ascertainedthat  "those  islands, of 
such  inestimable  importance  to  the  city,  were  the  property  of  one 
individual,  who  now  derives  from  them  an  income,  by  the  sale 
of  stone  and  gravel,  and  thus  assisted  the  inroads  of  the  sea."  By 
these  combined  operations,  one  half  of  George's  Island  had  been 


118  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

destroyed,  and  both  might  be  purchased  for  seven  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  City  Council  were  not,  however,  prepared  to  adopt 
the  suggestions  of  the  Mayor,  and  referred  the  subject  for  con- 
sideration to  their  successors. 

In  November,  1824,  the  Mayor  again  brought  this  subject 
before  the  City  Council,  stating  that  these  islands  ought  to  be 
owned  by  the  city  ;  that  although  the  duty  of  fortifying  the  har- 
bor belonged  to  the  United  States,  the  favorable  opportunity  for 
vesting  the  title  to  them  in  the  city  ought  not  to  be  lost.  The 
measure  would  strongly  express  the  opinion  of  the  city  govern^ 
ment  of  their  importance,  and  must  have  a  propitious  influence 
on  an  application  to  Congress  for  an  appropriation  for  their  pro- 
tection. This  persevering  urgency  effected  its  object.  The  sanc- 
tion of  the  City  Council  was  obtained.  The  Mayor  and  Alder- 
man Eddy,  and  Messrs.  E.  Williams,  Wales,  and  Coolidge,  of  the 
Common  Council,  were  appointed  a  Committee,  with  full  author- 
ity;  and  in  March,  1825,  they  reported  that  George's  and  Lovell's 
Islands  had  been  purchased  for  six  thousand  dollars,  on  terms 
and  conditions  to  which  the  City  Council  immediately  acceded. 

In  the  preceding  and  subsequent  negotiation  with  the  Gene- 
ral Government,  the  aid  of  James  Lloyd  and  Daniel  Webster,  the 
Senators  of  Massachusetts  in  Congress,  was  earnestly  and  suc- 
cessfully given  to  the  views  of  the  City  Council.  A  correspond- 
ence was  also  opened,  by  the  Mayor,  with  James  Barbour,  the 
Secretary  of  War  of  the  United  States,  which  resulted  in  a 
transfer  to  them  of  the  soil  and  jurisdiction  of  George's  and 
Lovell's  Islands,  and  also  so  much  of  Deer  Island  as  should  be 
covered  by  their  works,  and  in  an  appropriation  by  Congress  of 
forty  thousand  dollars  for  the  protection  of  George's  and  Deer 
Islands  by  a  sea  wall.  This  appropriation  was,  however,  exclu- 
sively applied  to,  and  exhausted  in  protecting  George's  Island. 

In  November,  1827,  the  Mayor,  therefore,  again  called  the 
attention  of  the  City  Council  to  the  state  of  the  several  islands 
and  beaches  in  the  vicinity  of  the  different  harbors  of  the  city, 
stating  that  the  former  appropriation  made  by  Congress  had 
been  expended,  and  that  additional  appropriations  were  requisite 
for  the  protection  of  our  harbor  from  the  inroads  of  the  sea.  At 
the  same  time  he  called  the  attention  of  the  City  Council  to  a 
petition  pending  before  the  Legislature  of  the  State  from  the 
town  of  Chelsea,  relative  to  the  jurisdiction  over  Chelsea  Beach, 


CITY  GOVERNlMENr.  119 

and  to  the  importance  of  maintaining  that  Beach  in  its  present 
state.  He  adverted  also  to  the  practice  of  taking  ballast  and 
sand  from  Bird  Island  and  from  the  Bar,  extending  from  the 
Great  Brewster  to  the  Stone  Monument,  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Narrows.  An  application  to  the  Legislatm-e  was  accordingly- 
authorized,  and  an  act  obtained,  providing  against  the  several 
injuries  which  were  specified  or  apprehended. 

In  February,  1828,  the  importance  of  protection  to  Deer  Island, 
as  stated  in  a  memorial  from  the  Boston  Marine  Society,  was 
laid  before  the  City  Council  by  the  Mayor,  and  a  memorial  to 
Congress  for  an  appropriation  for  that  object  was  authorized, 
and,  in  June  following,  a  letter  from  Mr.  Gorham,  the  member 
of  Congress  from  Boston,  was  received,  stating  that  eighty-seven 
thousand  dollars  had  been  appropriated,  according  to  the  tenor 
and  request  of  that  memorial,  and  in  the  course  of  the  same 
month,  another  letter  from  Samuel  L.  Southard,  Secretary  at 
War,  was  received  by  the  Mayor,  stating  that  the  appropriation 
had  been  made,  and  an  engineer  directed  to  proceed  in  the  pro- 
posed system  of  protection.  This  was  accordingly  commenced 
in  the  autumn  of  1828,  the  city  having  caused  the  cession  to  be 
made  to  the  United  States  of  the  jurisdiction  of  that  part  of  the 
island  on  which  the  sea  wall  was  erected,  as  required  in  like 
cases  by  the  United  States. 

The  subject  of  common  sewers  came  early  under  the  conside- 
ration of  the  City  Council.  Under  the  town  government,  the 
drains  were  objects  of  private  property,  subject  to  the  rules  esta- 
blished by  law.  No  person  was  allowed  to  open  a  street  for  the 
pm'pose  of  laying  a  new  or  using  an  old  drain  or  common  sewer, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Selectmen.  If  any  inhabitant,  with 
their  permission,  laid  a  sewer,  every  person  entering  his  drain 
into  it,  or  remotely  benefited  by  it,  was  held  to  pay  its  owner  a 
proportionate  part  of  the  charge  for  its  construction  and  repau*, 
to  ,be  ascertained  by  the  selectmen,  with  an  appeal  from  then' 
decision  to  the  Court  of  Sessions.  In  case  of  subsequent  repairs, 
all  persons  benefited  were  held  to  pay  their  proportion  of  the 
expense.  The  person  opening  such  drain,  being  bound  to  give 
seven  days  notice,  by  advertisement,  to  all  persons  interested, 
to  appear  and  object  to  it  on  the  day  appointed  by  the  Select- 
men, whose  duty  it  was  to  decide  whether  the  drain  should  be 
opened,  and  the  person  who  should  bear  the  expense. 


120  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

No  system  could  be  more  inconvenient  to  the  public,  or 
embarrassing  to  private  persons.  The  streets  were  opened  with 
little  care,  the  drains  built  according  to  the  opinion  of  private 
interest  and  economy ;  and  constant  and  interminable  vexatious 
occasions  of  dispute  occurred  between  the  owners  of  the  drain 
and  those  who  entered  it,  as  to  the  degree  of  benefit  and  pro- 
portion of  contribution. 

The  direction  of  the  drain,  and  the  place  in  the  street  selected 
for  laying  it,  was  often  guided  by  the  interest  of  him  who  first 
opened  it,  with  little  regard  to  public  or  general  acconimodation. 
An  ordinance  of  the  City  Council  was  passed  on  the  seventh  of 
July,  1823,  adapted  to  remedy  these  inconveniences.  It  provided 
that  all  common  sewers  should  be  laid  and  kept  in  repair  at  the 
expense  of  the  city,  under  the  direction  of  the  Mayor  and  Alder- 
men ;  that  persons  entering  or  benefited  by  them,  should  be 
held  to  pay  what  they  should  deem  just  and  reasonable.  Their 
dimensions,  size,  position,  and  materials,  with  which  constructed, 
and  all  incidental  particulars,  were  subjected  to  their  authority, 
and  they  were  invested  with  poAver  to  compel  any  owner  of  land 
adjoining  to  make  a  sufficient  drain  into  them,  and  if  neglected,  to 
cause  the  same  to  be  done,  and  recover  the  amount  of  expenses, 
with  ten  per  cent,  damages.  Penalties  were  annexed  for  entering 
a  drain  without  a  permit,  and  provisions  made  for  repairing  or 
rebuilding  a  common  sewer,  and  assessing  the  cost  on  those 
benefited.  A  plan  of  each  common  sewer,  embracing  its  size, 
its  direction,  and  all  particulars  to  show  its  local  position,  was 
directed  to  be  kept  in  a  book  for  that  purpose. 

To  cany  the  system  into  effect,  a  superintendent  of  common 
sewers  was  appointed  to  grant  permits,  and,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Committee  of  the  district,  to  oversee  the  opening  and 
repair  of  common  sewers. 

Many  difficulties  at  first  occui-red  in  carrying  this  system  into 
effect,  from  its  novelty  and  from  the  embarrassments  arising 
from  the  interference  of  the  city  common  sewers  with  the  acquired 
rights  of  persons.  They  were,  however,  surmounted,  and  resulted 
finally  in  the  efficient  and  satisfactory  system  now  in  practice. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1824-1825. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor ^ 

Pi'occctlings  of  the  City  Council  of  tlie  past  Year  recapitulated  —  Importance 
of  the  Kesponsibility  of  the  Mayor  —  Estates  purchased  for  the  Enlargement 
of  Faneuil  Hall  Market  —  Plan  of  the  New  Market  —  North  Block  of  Stores 
built  and  sold  —  First  Plan  enlarged  • — •  Southern  Block  of  Stores  built  and 
sold  —  Corner  Stone  of  Market  House  laid. 

The  general  interest  of  the  citizens  of  Boston,  especially  of 
those  who  resided  in  the  northern  section  of  the  city,  that  the 
improvements  in  progress  in  Faneuil  Hall  Market  should  be  car- 
ried into  effect  on  the  scale  in  which  they  had  been  commenced, 
conduced  to  the  popularity  of  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  who 
were  all  reelected  in  1824,  almost  without  opposition. 

The  Mayor,  in  his  inaugm-al  address,  expressed  his  acknow- 
ledgments to  the  citizens  for  their  continued  confidence,  and  to 
the  Aldermen  for  their  aid  in  the  measures  which  had  been  pur- 
sued the  preceding  year.  By  these,  the  obtrusiveness  of  vice  had 
been  checked,  through  the  application  of  a  vigorous  police ;  the 
cleansing  of  the  streets  had  been  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  con- 
tractors into  the  control  of  the  city  ;  thirteen  streets  had  been  ma- 
terially widened,  at  the  expense  of  nearly  twelve  thousand  dollars ; 
the  drains  of  the  city  had  been  transferred  from  private  to  public 
custody;  the  malls  on  Charles  Street  and  Fort  Hill  had  been 
enlarged  and  improved ;  the  House  of  Industry  had  been  put 
into  operation  ;  measures  adopted  to  vest  in  the  city  the  title  to 
the  lands  west  of  Charles  Street,  and  to  complete  the  projected 
improvements  about  Faneuil  Hall. 

The  Mayor,  in  this  address,^  justified  and  explained  the  neces- 
sity of  creating  a  city  debt,  and  the  principles  by  which  the  exer- 

1  The  whole  number  of  votes  were  3950,  of  which  the  Mayor  had  3867.  The 
members  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  were  generally  elected  by  similar  majorities. 

2  See  Appendix,  C. 

11 


122  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

cise  of  that  power  ought  to  be  regulated.  He  then  gave  his 
views  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  Mayor,  the  qualities 
the  citizens  should  regard  in  the  selection  of  a  candidate  for  that 
office,  and  the  official  energy  and  efficiency  they  ought  to  exact 
from  him;  and  proceeded  to  show  the  incompatibility  of  the 
powers  assumed  and  exercised  by  the  independent  boards,  which 
had  originated  under  the  town  government,  with  the  responsibi- 
lity of  the  Mayor,  and  the  essential  authority  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil, and  the  necessity  of  their  removal. 

On  this  principle  of  responsibility  the  Mayor,  from  his  first 
induction  in  1823,  had  taken  the  place  of  chairman  of  every 
Committee  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  appointed  on  any  import- 
ant interest  of  the  city.  As  this  practice  had  been  openly  cen- 
sured as  selfish  and  assuming,  the  Mayor  afterwards  vindicated 
publicly  his  course,  as  essential  to  a  knowledge  of  the  objects  of 
his  official  duties,  which  included  inspection,  superintendence, 
and  recommendation  of  measures  on  his  responsibility.  To  an 
intelligent  performance  of  these  duties,  the  actual  investigation 
of  every  question,  as  it  occurs,  in  the  course  of  daily  business,  is 
important,  as  scarcely  one  can  arise  among  the  complicated  and 
often  discordant  interests  of  a  great  city,  which  is  absohitely  local 
and  individual.  It  touches  some  other,  perhaps  some  rival  inte- 
rest, affects  some  principle,  or  creates  some  precedent,  which  can 
be  alone  detected  or  rightly  understood  by  beizig  examined  in  the 
vicinity,  or  among  the  individuals  it  directly  affects.  The  know- 
ledge thus  acquired,  must  often  be  all-important  to  the  chief  ma- 
gisti-ate,  who  means  to  place  himself  in  the  condition  to  under- 
stand and  maintain  all  the  real  interests  of  the  city.  One  of  the 
greatest  securities  for  public  virtue  and  for  the  exact  perform- 
ance of  official  duty  is  a  sense  of  responsibility.  Whoever  means 
to  be  faithful  to  himself  or  his  trusts  will  enlarge  and  multiply 
occasions  for  keeping  alive  this  sense  in  himself  and  in  those 
whose  interests  he  is  called  upon  to  protect. 

This  course,  also,  is  not  merely  expedient,  but  in  a  degree 
obligatory.  The  Mayor  is  fairly,  if  not  highly,  compensated  for 
his  services.  The  members  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  are 
uncompensated.  On  him  who  receives  the  salary  justly  falls  the 
labor  and  .the  responsibility.  This  course,  also,  has  a  tendency 
to  give  the  Mayor  a  personal  acquaintance  with  the  citizens, 
their  interests,  prejudices,  passions,  and  characters.     The  more 


CITY  GOYERmiENT.  123 

of  such  knowledge  he  acquu-es,  the  better  is  he  qualified  to  shape 
the  measures  of  his  administration  so  as  to  promote  the  satisfac- 
tion of  individuals  and  the  prosperity  of  the  city. 

During  the  first  two  years  of  his  administration,  the  Mayor 
placed  himself,  as  has  been  stated,  at  the  head  of  every  commit- 
tee of  a  general  character,  and  also  of  a  great  majority  of  those 
merely  personal  and  local.  If,  during  the  subsequent  years,  he 
changed,  in  a  slight  degree,  that  course,  it  was  out  of  respect  to 
the  opinion  of  others,  rather  than  from  any  perception  of  diffi- 
culty or  impracticability.  From  the  recent  organization  of  the 
city  government,  and  the  consequent  new  arrangement  of  its 
powers,  and  from  many  new  and  extensive  projects  of  improve- 
ment, there  was,  during  these  years,  an  uncommon  influx  of  ques- 
tions of  great  interest  and  importance ;  yet  the  business  of  the 
office  was  efficiently  and  promptly  executed.  The  practice  of 
this  rule  of  conduct,  dm'ing  nearly  six  years,  did  not  involve  the 
Mayor  in  any  unreasonable  or  impracticable  accumulation  of 
business ;  and  there  is  no  ground  for  the  opinion  that  such  a  rule, 
and  a  practice  in  conformity  with  it,  exceeds  the  ability  of  any 
individual  quahfied  for  such  a  station,  who  brings  into  it,  as  every 
one  ought,  a  heart  exclusively  devoted  to  duty,  and  a  spirit 
resolved  on  its  faithful  performance. 

The  practice  of  devolving  aU,  or  a  principal  part,  of  the  duties 
of  the  office  of  Mayor  upon  committees  of  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men ought,  therefore,  to  be  received  by  the  citizens  with  great 
jealousy. 

As  the  city  increases  in  population  and  extent,  some  relaxation 
of  this  principle  may  be  required,  in  relation  to  merely  personal 
or  local  questions;  but  none  ought  ever  to  be  permitted  in  respect 
of  those  which  affect  the  health,  the  character,  or  the  general 
interests  of  the  city.  A  disposition  to  evade  labor  and  responsi- 
bility is  the  best  criterion  of  a  want  of  qualification  for  any 
office.  It  is  important  that  this  point  should  be  distinctly  stated 
and  realized,  for  a  contrary  practice  is  very  likely  to  find  advo- 
cates in  a  course  of  time.  Men  of  talents  and  high  acquire- 
ments, who  take  office  only  as  a  stepping-stone  to  some  higher 
station,  will  be  apt  to  regard  some  of  its  duties  as  menial ;  and, 
consequently,  to  strive  to  throw  the  personal  superintendence 
and  examination  of  the  resulting  questions  upon  others,  and  cast 
on  them  the  bm-den  and  responsibility  of  inspection  and  decision. 


124  MUNICIPAL  IIISTOEY. 

They  will  thus  be  relieved  from  attention  to  subjects,  often  irk- 
some, never,  in  themselves,  interesting,  at  times  disgusting,  and, 
in  cases  of  malignant  contagion,  dangerous.  Above  all,  an  exe- 
cutive officer  is  thus  enabled  to  escape  the  odium  and  unpopu- 
larity consequent  upon  discovering  his  opinions  on  questions 
often  intensely  interesting  to  individuals  or  sections  of  the  city; 
especially  when  it  happens,  as  it  often  must,  that  the  Mayor 
or  his  friends  are  interested  in  the  advancement  or  prevention  of 
projects  or  improvements  of  the  city.  The  practice  of  devolving 
responsibility  on  committees,  enables  men  to  do  that  by  influ- 
ence, which  they  might  be  unwilling  to  do  directly.  It  is  so 
much  easier  to  effect  private  and  personal  views  by  committees, 
than  by  du'ect  voice  and  superintendence,  that  there  is  a  constant 
temptation  to  evade  the  principle  of  that  official  responsibility 
of  the  Mayor  which  tends  to  place  his  conduct  in  frequent  and 
full  relief  before  the  citizens. 

This  principle  of  executive  responsibility,  which  the  Mayor,  at 
his  entrance  into  the  office,  thus  inculcated  on  the  citizens,  and 
which,  during  the  nearly  six  years  of  his  official  tenure,  he  never 
ceased  both  to  assume  and  avow,  was  unquestionably  among 
the  chief  causes  of  whatever  success  attended  that  administra- 
tion. It  is,  however,  unfortunately  a  fact,  that  there  is  in 
republics  a  reciprocal  tendency,  both  in  executives  and  among 
citizens,  to  keep  this  principle  out  of  sight.  Men  are  natm-ally 
jealous  of  any  disposition  to  exert  powers,  even  when  they  exist 
and  are  used  for  their  benefit.  But  if  a  people  require  talents  in 
official  station^  they  must  exact  responsibility  in  their  exercise ; 
for  the  best,  if  not  the  only  evidence  of  talents  and  qualifica- 
tion for  public  usefulness  is  to  be  found  in  what  is  recommended 
and  effected. 

The  unanimity  with  which  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  were 
reelected,  in  1824,  was,  as  has  been  intimated,  chiefly  owing  to 
the  general  interest  in  the  improvements  then  in  progress  in  the 
great  centi-al  market  of  the  city. 

In  constituting  the  Committee,  early  in  May,  to  caiTy  into 
effect  the  resolutions  of  the  preceding  year,  relative  to  Faneuil 
HaU  Market,  with  the  same  powers  and  under  the  same  limit- 
ations, the  same  members  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  were  reap- 
pointed; and,  as  some  change  had  been  effected  in  the  other 
branch,  Francis  J.  Oliver,  its  President,  Messrs.  Russell,  Curtis, 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  125 

T.  Page,  E.  Williams,  Hastings,  and  Coolidge,  were  associated 
with  them,  by  the  Common  Council. 

The  first  step  taken  by  this  Committee  was  of  a  decisive 
character.  A  sub-committee  ^  was  appointed  to  purchase  all  the 
estates  within  the  then  avowed  sphere  of  contemplated  improve- 
ment, provided  that  the  price,  including  the  estates  already  pur- 
chased, should  not  exceed  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  All  the 
negotiations,  as  heretofore,  were  conducted  by  the  Mayor,  the 
judgment  and  advice  of  the  other  members  being  occasionally 
called  in  aid.  By  the  twelfth  of  June,  1824,  in  addition  to  the 
estates  already  purchased,  those  of  Samuel  Parkman,  of  Gore's 
heirs,  of  Edward  Miller,  John  Codman,  H.  G.  Otis,  and  John  T.  Ap- 
thorp  were  secured,  at  a  price  somewhat  exceeding  two  hundred 
and  eighty-sLx  thousand  dollars.  On  that  day,  the  sub-commit- 
tee made  a  report  of  their  proceedings,  with  estimates  of  what 
sums  would  probably  be  necessary  to  complete  the  purchase  of 
the  remaining  estates,  and  showing  that  there  could  be  no  ques- 
tion that  the  whole  might  be  purchased  within  the  sum  author- 
ized by  the  City  Council  (five  hundred  thousand  dollars.)  This 
report  was  accepted;  votes  were  passed  unanimously,  and  au- 
thority given  to  carry  the  several  contracts  into  effect,  to  examine 
into  the  respective  titles,  and  to  issue  the  requisite  city  stock. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  June,  1824,  a  sub-committee  was 
raised,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Child,  Benjamin,  and  Williams,  to 
consider  what  measures  were  requisite  previously  to  a  sale  of  the 
land  purchased.  Their  report,  made  on  the  second  of  July  ensu- 
ing, led  to  votes  for  notifying  the  tenants  on  both  sides  of  the 
Town  Dock,  to  remove  within  thirty  days ;  to  authorize  the 
extension  of  the  common  sewer  to  the  flats ;  and  to  locate  the 
sea  w^all  for  inclosing  the  Town  Dock.  In  all  these  arrange- 
ments they  were  the  principal  agents.  Li  the  mean  time,  the 
interest  of  the  city  to  extend  the  first  project  contemplated  be- 
caine  evident ;  and  the  Mayor  informally  ascertained  the  dispo- 
sitions of  Governor  Eustis,  John  D.  Howard,  and  Benjamin 
Bussey,  relative  to  a  sale  of  their  estates.  It  had  become  appa- 
rent that,  by  turning  the  course  of  the  Mill  Creek,  and  extending 
the  project  further  eastward  into  the  harbor,  the  space  around  the 
proposed  market  would  be  greatly  enlarged,  and  a  new  street 

1  Consisting  of  the  Mayor,  I\L'.  Child,  Sir.  Benjamin,  ]\Ir.  Oliver,  and  Mr.  E. 
WHUams. 

11* 


126  MUNICIPAt  HISTORY. 

might  be  laid  out  at  right  angles  with  the  eastern  end  of  the 
proposed  new  market  house,  which  Avould  be  brought  in  a  line 
with  the  westerly  end  of  the  stores  on  Central  Wharf,  and  by- 
removing  a  few  stores  on  Long  Wharf,  a  straight  and  most  con- 
venient communication  would  be  made  with  the  northern  section 
of  the  city. 

Under  these  general  views,  the  Committee,  having  satisfied 
themselves  of  the  practicability  of  the  plan,  immediately  author- 
ized the  Mayor  to  purchase  Mr.  Bussey's  estate,  and  proceed 
in  his  negotiation  with  Mr.  Howard  and  Governor  Eustis,  and 
to  report  the  proceedings  of  the  Committee  to  the  City  Council, 
which  he  accordingly  did,  on  the  fifteenth  of  July,  stating  to 
them  the  estates  which  had  been  purchased,  and  the  price  paid 
for  them,  amounting  to  fom-  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars ;  communicating,  on  behalf  of  the  Committee,  their  great 
gratification  that  "  they  have  been  able  to  effect  so  nearly  the 
purchase  of  the  whole  circle  of  territory  necessary  for  the  city  to 
possess,  without  resort  to  the  exercise  of  the  powers  granted 
by  the  Legislature;"  that  "they  have  deemed  it  expedient  in 
all  cases  to  yield  to  the  reasonable,  and  in  some,  to  the  ex- 
treme, demands  of  proprietors,  rather  than  to  resort  to  a  compul- 
sory process."  He  then  proceeded  to  detail  the  particular  situ- 
ation of  those  estates  which  had  not  yet  been  purchased,  by 
wMch  it  appeared  that  three  of  the  proprietors  of  the  three 
fourteenth  parts  of  the  estate  belonging  to  Spear's  heirs  were 
the  only  owners  of  estates  who  had  "uniformly  declined  all 
negotiation  concerning  their  interest  in  the  contemplated  sphere 
of  improvement,  and  to  make  any  proposal  of  sale  of  it  to  the 
city;  and  that  the  purpose  of  these  proprietors  was  fixed  and 
unalterable."  The  Committee,  accordingly,  recommended  a 
course  of  proceeding  conformable  to  the  act  of  the  Legislature, 
declaring  the  public  exigencies  required  that  Faneuil  Hall  Mar- 
ket should  be  extended  in  the  du'ection  following,  namely, — 
"  In  an  easterly  direction,  from  Faneuil  Hall  to  the  harbor,  be- 
tween two  lines  parallel  to  the  walls  of  Faneuil  Hall,  and  ex- 
tending easterly  towards  the  harbor,  of  which  the  north  line 
shall  be  fourteen  feet  distant  from  the  north  side  of  said  hall, 
and  the  south  line  shall  be  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  to  the 
south  of  said  north  line."  Various  other  resolves  were  passed, 
giving  the  sanction  of  the  City  Council  to  the  several  measures 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  127 

proposed  by  the  Committee.  This  recommendation  was  adopted 
by  the  City  Council;  and,  on  the  twenty-second  of  July,  the 
Mayor  and  Aldermen  extended  and  widened  Faneuil  Hall  Mar- 
ket, in  the  direction  and  within  the  limits  prescribed  by  the  City 
Council ;  and  ordered  the  proprietors,  whose  estates  had  not  yet 
been  purchased,  to  be  notified,  of  a  meeting  to  be  holden  at  a 
time  and  place  specified  in  said  resolve,  and  inviting  them  to 
submit  all  questions  relative  to  damages  to  five  disinterested 
freeholders,  as  specified  in  the  act  of  the  Legislature. 

On  the  day  appointed,  the  three  proprietors  declined  referring 
the  value  of  their  estates  or  selling  them. 

It  had  always  been  the  anxious  wish  of  the  Committee  and 
of  the  City  Council,  as  has  been  before  stated,  to  complete  this 
great  improvement  without  resort  to  the  compulsory  authority 
granted  by  the  act  of  the  Legislature.  For  this  purpose,  they  had 
given,  or  offered,  in  every  instance,  prices,  either  satisfactory  to 
the  proprietors,  or  such  as,  under  other  circumstances,  would  have 
been  deemed  extravagant.  The  fixed  determination  of  the  three 
proprietors  of  the  three  fourteenth  parts  of  the  Spear  estate,  to 
stand  upon  their  rights  and  make  no  sale  of  their  interests,  ren- 
dered, however,  the  resort  inevitable.  In  selecting  the  lines  for 
the  extension  of  the  market,  under  the  authority  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, the  Committee  had  special  reference  to  the  lines  of  the 
Spear  estate,  so  that  the  future  interests  of  the  city  might  be 
placed  in  a  position  not  to  be  embarrassed  by  any  tenacity  of 
purpose  of  these  three  proprietors. 

The  City  Council  now  took  the  first  step  towards  making 
preparations  for  building  a  rnarket  house,  by  granting  an  appro- 
priation of  twenty  thousand  dollars  for  sea  walls  and  drains. 
The  Mayor,  Mr.  Child,  Mr.  Benjamin,  and  Mr.  Williams  were 
appointed  a  Building  Committee,  with  authority  to  appoint  an 
agent,  and  the  Mayor  was  authorized  to  proceed  in  his  negotia- 
tion with  Governor  Eustis  for  his  estate  beyond  the  Mill  Creek. 

This  terminated  favorably,  and,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  July, 
the  Mayor  reported  that  he  had  closed  a  contract  for  that  estate 
for  the  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  doUars.  This  being  accepted, 
the  Committee  ordered  the  Building  Committee  to  cause  a  new 
passage  for  the  creek  to  be  cut  through  Eustis's  Wharf,  and  to 
fill  up  the  MiU  Creek  to  the  southward  of  the  line  of  the  pass- 
age-way so  cut.     At  this  meeting,  the  ground  plan  of  the  new 


128  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

market  was  settled,  and  the  walls  ordered  to  be  laid  in  conform- 
ity with  it,  by  unanimous  vote,  Mr.  Wright  having  been  pre- 
viously added  to  the  Committee,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Hastings, 
who  was  absent.  Mr.  Benjamin  was  appointed  a  Committee, 
to  cause  a  plan  to  be  prepared  of  the  elevation  and  interior  of 
the  new  market  house. 

In  the  course  of  the  month  of  August,  the  estates  of  John  D. 
Howard  and  Daniel  Vose,  and  the  interest  of  the  minor  heh-s  in 
David  Spear's  estate,,  were  obtained,  and  also  the  principles,  on 
which  that  part  of  the  estate  owned  by  the  Long  Wharf,  in  and 
adjoining  Bray's  Wharf,  should  be  vested  in  the  city,  were  set- 
tled. Arbitrators  were  also  agreed  upon,  on  the  subject  of  the 
estates  taken  under  the  special  authority  given  by  the  act  of  the 
Legislature.  The  three  proprietors  of  the  three  fourteenth  parts 
of  the  Spear  estate  still  continuing  fixed  in  their  purpose,  not  to 
sell,  and  alone,  of  aU  the  proprietors,  refusing  ta  refer,  according 
to  the  election  given  by  said  act,  — 

Messrs.  Curtis  and  Nichols  were  now  employed  by  the  Com- 
mittee to  examine  into  the  whole  title  of  the  city  and  of  the 
proprietors  on  "  the  Cove  and  to  the  Mill  Creek ; "  and  the  Mayor 
was  directed  to  prepare  a  report  on  the  recent  pm-chases  and 
proceedings  of  the  Committee.  This,  on  the  sixth  of  Septem- 
ber, received  the  approbation  of  the  Committee,  and  was  laid 
before  the  City  Council  on  the  ninth. 

In  this  report,  the  City  Council  are  informed  by  the  Commit- 
tee, that  "the  interests  of  the  city  having  further  developed 
themselves,  in  consequence  of  a  more  intimate  and  accurate 
acquaintance  with,  and  investigation  of,  the  relations  of  the 
estates  in  that  quarter,  it  was  unanimously  their  opinion,  that 
the  extension  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market  should  not  be  limited 
by  the  Mill  Creek,  as  at  first  contemplated.  By  the  purchase 
of  Eustis's  and  Howard's  wharves,  not  only  a  great  improve- 
ment would  result,  in  the  accommodation  of  the  city,  but  also  a 
great  addition  to  the  means  of  indemnification  for  its  expendi- 
tures, from  the  additional  store  lots  and  wharf  rights  which  these 
new  purchases  and  this  new  extension  would  afford.  The  estate 
of  Ml-.  Bussey  stood  in  such  a  relation,  both  to  the  Mill  Creek 
and  to  the  passage  from  Ann  Street,  as  to  make  its  possession 
by  the  city  extremely  important;  that  the  purchases  of  these 
estates  were  necessarily  made  without  any  previous  public  de- 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  129 

velopment  of  their  intentions ;  but,  in  making  them,  that  the 
Committee  had  acted  under  a  distinct  pledge  from  j)ersons  of 
responsibility,  that  if  the  City  Council  chose  to  disaffirm  those 
purchases,  they  stood  ready  to  take  the  estate,  and  reUeve  the 
city  from  them.  The  Committee  then  proceed  to  state  their 
confidence,  that  the  opinion  of  the  City  Council  will  be  in  favor 
of  accepting  them ;  their  satisfaction  that  all  the  purchases  will 
be  made  within  the  original  estimates ;  but  that  the  three  estates 
above  mentioned,  not  having  been  included  within  the  original 
estimates,  an  additional  appropriation  and  corrrespondent  au- 
thority to  make  loans,  would  be  essential. 

This  report  the  City  Council  accepted,  and  made  an  additional 
appropriation,  equal  in  amount  to  the  costs  of  those  three  estates, 
and  the  power  solicited  was  granted  ;  making  the  whole  amount 
of  appropriations  to  this  period  $547,500. 

Between  the  sixth  and  thnteenth  of  September,  1824,  the 
Committee  had  determined  upon  the  plan  and  elevation  of  the 
new  market  house,  that  it  should  be  of  stone,  and  proposed  to 
the  City  Council  the  expediency  of  giving  authority  for  the  sale 
of  the  store  lots  on  the  north  side  of  the  new  market  house. 

On  the  fourteenth,  resolves  were  passed  by  the  City  Council, 
sanctioning  the  plan  and  elevation  and  the  sale  proposed,  and 
appropriating  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  for  the  erecting  of  the 
market  house.  The  sale  was  directed  to  be  at  auction  to  the 
highest  bidder,  and  the  terms  and  conditions  were  to  be  prescribed 
by  the  Committee,  three  fourths  thereof  concurring ;  it  being  a 
condition  annexed  to  such  sales  that  a  market  house  should  be 
erected  upon  the  general  plan  then  specified  and  agreed  upon 
by  the  City  Council. 

Accordingly,  on  the  twenty-first  of  September,  1824,  the  Com- 
mittee agreed  that  the  sale  should  take  place  on  the  twenty-ninth 
of  September  ensuing ;  and  that  the  conditions  should  be,  among 
others,  of  temporary  import,  —  that  no  bid  less  than  seven  dollars 
per  square  foot  should  be  taken  ;  the  terms  ten  per  cent,  in  cash ; 
and  for  the  residue,  a  bond  collaterally  secm-ed  by  mortgage  on 
the  premises,  payable  at  any  period  not  exceeding  thirty  years,  at 
five  and  a  half  per  cent,  interest  per  annum ;  the  pm'chaser  to 
build  on  or  before  the  first  of  July,  1825,  a  substantial  brick  store 
of  four  stories,  conformably  to  a  plan  and  specification  of  parti- 
culars.    A  sub-committee  was  now  appointed  to  settle  with  the 


130  MUNICIPAL  mSTORY. 

tenants  who  had  been  removed,  and  the  Mayor  was  authorized 
to  negotiate  with  Samuel  Hammond,  Esq.,  relative  to  the  land 
in  the  rear  of  his  building,  w^hich  had  its  front  on  Ann  Street, 
and  between  it  and  the  front  line  of  the  proposed  new  stores. 

An  authority  to  raise  fifty  thousand  dollars,  by  way  of  loan,  at 
five  per  cent.,  was  given  by  the  Committee  to  the  Mayor,  with 
the  formality  requhed,  namely,  —  ten  members  signing  the 
record. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  September,  the  long-continued  and 
difficult  negotiation  with  Samuel  Hammond  was  terminated,  by 
his  agreeing  to  pay  thu'ty  thousand  dollars  for  the  land  and  rights 
conveyed  to  him  by  the  city.  It  being  a  piece  of  land  fifty  feet 
long  and  fifty -five  feet  wide,  together  with  the  city's  right  to  a 
passage  way  ;  Mr.  Hammond  to  conform  to  the  plan  of  building 
required  of  other  pm-chasers. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  September,  conformably  to  notice,  the 
land  for  the  north  block  of  stores  (seventeen  in  number)  was  sold ; 
the  highest  lot  producing  twenty  dollars  and  eighty-tliree  cents ; 
the  lowest  seven  dollars  the  square  foot ;  and  the  gross  proceeds 
of  thirty  thousand  and  thirty-seven  and  a  half  square  feet  of  land, 
which,  the  seventeen  store  lots  included,  amounted  to  the  sum  of 
1 303,495.42,  averaging  ten  dollars  the  square  foot. 

The  Sub- Committee  on  building  (Messrs.  Child,  Benjamin, 
and  Page,)  were  now  du'ected  to  proceed  in  their  contracts ;  and 
on  the  fom-th  of  October  the  City  Council  authorized  the  Com- 
mittee to  purchase  the  estates  belonging  to  the  heirs  of  Henry 
Bass,  and  also  Jesse  Kingsbmy's  estate,  for  the  purpose  of  open- 
ing a  street  into  Ann  Street,  and  widening  the  passage  back  of 
the  store  lots.  On  the  fifth  of  October,  Henry  Bass's  estate  was 
purchased  for  four  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and 
the  plan  of  the  market,  as  finally  built,  was  signed  by  the  Mayor. 

From  the  commencement  of  this  undertaking,  the  original 
design  of  extending  the  improvement  to  Butler's  Row  had  never 
been  lost  sight  of  by  the  city  authorities.  The  practicability  of 
it  was  not  believed  by  a  majority  of  the  FaneuU  HaU  Market 
Committee.  Some  doubted  its  expediency.  Others  could  not 
believe  that  the  estates  could  be  pm'chased  at  a  sum  which  would 
justify  the  undertaking.  The  Mayor,  however,  during  the  inter- 
vening period  had  negotiated  with  all  the  proprietors  of  land 
between  Parkman's  Block  and  Butler's  Row,  and  had  obtained 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  131 

conditional  contracts  for  the  purchase  within  a  limited  time  of 
all  the  estates  essential  to  the  plan. 

The  sales  of  the  store  lots  for  the  north  block  had  greatly 
increased  the  popularity  of  the  plan  and  sanctioned  its  success. 
The  practicability  of  enlarging  the  accommodations  round  this 
great  central  market,  without  any  important  imphcation  of  the 
resources  of  the  city,  began  to  be  more  generally  realized,  and  the 
feasibility  of  the  plan  to  be  recognized.  The  only  obstruction  to 
this  enlargement  was  the  refusal  of  the  three  proprietors  to  make 
sale  of  their  three  fourteenth  interests  in  the  Spear  estate.  On 
the  thirtieth  of  September,  however,  the  day  after  the  result  of 
the  sale  of  the  north  block  of  stores  was  known,  those  proprietors 
addressed  a  letter  to  the  Mayor,  disclaiming  all  design  "  to  stand 
in  the  way  of  city  improvements,"  and  declaring  their  "  Avilling- 
ness  that  their  land  should  be  embraced  in  the  plans  adopted, 
and  sold  with  the  city  lands,  they  receiving  for  their  portion  the 
average  of  the  sales  so  made."  The  views  of  the  city's  interest, 
and  their  duty  to  it,  which  the  city  authorities  had  long  enter- 
tained, rendered  it  impossible  to  accede  to  this  proposition.  The 
late  sales  had  rendered  the  propriety  of  these  views  more  obvious 
to  the  Faneuil  Hall  Committee  and  to  the  citizens  in  general. 

By  the  negotiations  the  Mayor  had  now  conditionally  effected, 
it  was  in  the  power  of  the  City  Council  to  enlarge  the  plan  of 
improvement  to  the  greatest  extent,  which  the  relations  of  the 
land  between  Ann  Street  and  Butler's  Row  made  possible ;  and 
on  the  twenty-sixth  of  October  following,  he  laid  before  the 
Faneuil  Hall  Committee  the  practicability  of  an  enlargement  of 
the  present  improvement,  provided  the  Long  Wharf  proprietors 
could  be  induced  to  sell  to  the  city  an  additional  extent  of  Bray's 
Wharf;  upon  which  he  was  authorized  to  enter  into  a  negotia- 
tion with  those  proprietors  on  that  subject,  and  Messrs.  Benjamin, 
Oliver,  and  Williams,  were  united  with  him  to  meet  any  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  them  on  this  subject. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  December,  the  Mayor  laid  before  the 
Faneuil  Hall  Committee  plans  of  an  enlargement  of  South  Mar- 
ket Street,  and  of  extending  the  plan  of  improvement  so  as  to 
include  all  the  estates  as  far  as  Butler's  Row,  and  also  a  street 
forty  feet  wide.  This  representation  was  referred  to  a  sub-com- 
mittee, consisting  of  the  Mayor,  Mr.  Child,  Mr.  Curtis,  Mi'.  W^il- 
liams,  and  Mr.  Wright,  to  examine  all  the  plans  and  calculations, 


I 


132  ]\niNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

and  improve  upon  them,  if  practicable,  and  to  report  what  further 
measures  may  be  expedient. 

Hitherto  all  the  moneys  of  the  Committee  had  been  subject  to 
the  draft  of  the  Mayor,  and  they  stood  to  his  credit  in  the  books 
of  the  City  Bank.  The  Mayor  stated  to  the  Committee  that  he 
thought  "  the  po^wer  he  had  over  those  moneys  was  not  suffi- 
ciently restricted  and  checked,  considered  as  a  precedent;  he, 
therefore,  proposed  a  vote,  which  was  adopted,  that  aU  payments 
should  be  vouched  by  the  Sub- Committees  making  the  expend- 
iture and  countersigned  by  the  auditor ;  "  and  that  all  moneys 
received  on  account  of  the  Committee  should  be  deposited  in 
bank  to  the  credit  of  the  Mayor,  subject  to  his  draft,  under  the 
preceding  restrictions. 

On  the  t\venty-second  of  December,  the  Sub-Committee  on  the 
proposed  extension  of  the  plan  of  improvement  to  Butler's  E-ow 
reported,  and  the  Committee  unanimously  voted  that  the  propo- 
sition for  such  extension  of  the  improvement  ought  to  be  em- 
braced ;  and  the  Mayor  was  requested  to  call  a  meeting  of  the 
City  Council,  and  state  to  them  that  "  by  the  power  to  apply  a 
sum  not  exceeding  two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars, 
improvements  of  great  importance  might  be  effected,  by  the  pur- 
chase of  land,  without  any  ultimate  cost,  and  with  a  certain 
ultimate  gain  to  the  cit^''." 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  December  following,  the  City  Council 
were  specially  convened  on  this  subject,  and  a  message  transmit- 
ted by  the  Mayor,  which  developed  all  the  views  entertained  by 
the  Committee,  and  the  motives  which  induced  them  to  recom- 
mend the  extension  of  the  plan  first  adopted.  As  this  measure 
was  the  occasion  of  much  obloquy  at  the  time,  it  seems  proper 
that  these  views  should  be  preserved  in  the  form  they  were  at 
that  time  presented  to  the  City  Council.  That  message  is  there- 
fore subjoined,^  by  which  it  will  be  apparent  that  the  motives 
which  actuated  the  City  CouncU  were  of  the  most  public  and 
patriotic  character ;  then*  object  being  to  avaU  themselves  of  a 
propitious  moment  to  effect  in  the  heart  of  the  city  an  enlarge- 
ment of  the  accommodations  of  its  gi'eat  central  market,  from  a 
width  of  sixty  to  that  of  one  hundred  and  two  feet.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  city  at  that  time  did  not  make  the  necessity  and 

1  See  Appendix  H. 


CITY  GOVERKMENT.  133 

importance  of  this  enlargement  as  apparent  to  the  citizens  in 
general,  as  it  was  to  the  City  Council,  and  as  every  day's  increas- 
ing experience  has  since  made  it.  No  one  can  pass  through 
South  Market  Street  at  the  present  day  (1851)  on  high  market 
days,  without  realizixig  both  the  importance,  and  even  necessity, 
of  that  measure,  and  perceiving  how  greatly  the  advantages  of 
that  improvement  would  have  been  diminished,  had  this  enlarge- 
ment not  taken  place,  and  this  street  had  been  left  of  the  width 
of  sixty  feet,  as  originally  proposed. 

In  consequence  of  this  message,  on  the  twenty -ninth  of  Decem- 
ber, an  authority  was  obtained  from  the  City  Council  to  pur- 
chase any  land  to  the  southward  of  the  street  leading  to  Bray's 
Wharf,  which  they  may  judge  expedient,  provided  the  purchases 
did  not  exceed  two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars,  three 
fom*ths  of  the  Committee  coiicun-ing  in  such  purchases  and  sign- 
ing such  concuiTcnce.  On  the  same  day,  the  vote  of  the  City 
Council  was  communicated  to  the  Committee,  who  unanimously 
executed  an  authority  to  the  Mayor  and  a  sub-committee  to  pro- 
ceed forthAvith  to  make  the  respective  purchases  under  the  above 
limitation. 

Between  the  fifth  and  the  eighteenth  of  January,  1825,  pur- 
chases were  accordingly  made  of  land  belonging  to  Benjamin 
Adams,  Josiah  Salisbury,  James  T.  Austin,  Thomas  Barnes,  and 
the  Fifty  Associates,  for 1 113.347 

And,  after  great  difficulties  and  long  negotiation, 
[         a  final  arrangement  was  made  with  the  Long 
Wharf  proprietors  for  the  purchase  of  their 
interest,  at 105.000 

$  218.347 
The  Committee  then  proceeded  to  direct,  that  South  Market 
Street  should  be  laid  out  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  two  feet 
wide-,  and  the  new  street,  running  from  Merchants'  Row,  thirty- 
five  feet  wide;  that  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  be  requested  to 
close  the  street  leading  to  Bray's  Wharf,  and  to  open  the  new 
street;  a  select  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  plans  of  the 
new  store  lots  to  be  sold,  determine  the  conditions  of  sale,  and 
report ;  and  all  the  tenants  in  Parkman's  Buildings  were  ordered 
to  remove  in  thirty  days. 

Thus  the  design  of  the  leading  members  of  the  first  Commit- 

12 


134  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

tee  on  Faneuil  Hall  Market  was  extended  toward  the  east  far 
beyond  their  first  published  plan.  The  western  side  conformed, 
in  all  material  respects,  to  that  plan,  except  that  the  market 
house,  instead  of  being  situated  between  two  streets,  each  eighty- 
feet  in  width,  had  a  street  sixty-five  feet  in  width  on  the  north, 
and  one  of  one  hundred  and  two  feet  on  the  south  side.  The 
cause  of  this  unequal  division  of  the  space  devoted  to  these 
streets  has  akeady  been  intimated. 

"When,  in  consequence  of  the  ultimate  purchases  of  the  chief 
estates  lying  between  the  street  leading  to  Bray's  Wharf  and 
Ann  Street,  the  whole  of  the  estate  of  Nathan  Spear's  heirs 
was  taken  into  South  Market  Street,  great  complaints  were 
made  and  indignation  expressed,  as  though  unexampled  injustice 
had  been  done  to  the  proprietors  of  the  three  fourteenths  of  Na- 
than Spear's  estate,  by  taking  in  the  whole  of  their  interest  for 
a  street.  It  is  not,  however,  apprehended  that  there  was  any 
just  cause  for  such  complaint  and  feeling.  Those  proprietors 
had  maintained  their  rights  with  exemplary  firmness,  and  had 
vindicated  for  themselves  all  the  advantages  of  the  increased 
value  of  their  estates,  derived  from  this  city  improvement.  Their 
estate,  however,  was,  like  those  of  other  citizens,  subject  to  be 
taken,  on  indemnification,  by  the  surveyors  of  highways  for  pub- 
lic exigencies. 

In  the  process  for  such  indemnification,  established  by  law  in 
such  cases,  they  had  the  full  right  of  receiving  damages,  accord- 
ing to  the  increased  value  of  then  estates,  as  raised  by  the  city ; 
and  this  principle  was  acceded  to  those  proprietors,  as  a  matter 
of  law,  by  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Commonwealth,  in  his  charge 
to  the  jmy  ^  who  had  the  duty  of  assessing  damages,  and  who 
awarded  to  those  proprietors  their  proportion  of  the  Spear  estate, 
valued  at  seventy  thousand  dollars,  which,  previously  to  the 
commencement  of  this  project  of  improvement,  had  never  been 
valued  at  more  than  twenty-five  thousand.  The  assertion,  that 
the  land  was  taken  by  the  city  as  a  speculation,  was  whoUy  with- 
out reasonable  ground. 

After  the  extension  of  the  Centce  Market,  according  to  the 
original  plan,  was  thus  effected,  minor  projects  were  started  in 
connection  with  it.     Some  proposed  that  the  new  market  house 

1  See  tie  Boston  Daily  Advertiser  of  tlie  twenty-eighth  November,  1826.       { 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  135 

should  be  widened  from  fifty  to  eighty  feet.  Others,  that  the 
cellar  of  the  market  house,  which  was  now,  through  its  whole 
length,  finished  and  walled,  should  be  taken  up  and  removed,  so 
as  to  coincide  with  the  centre  of  Faneuil  Hall.  The  proprietors 
of  the  north  block  of  stores  on  North  Market  Street  also  memo- 
rialized against  the  widening  of  South  Market  Street,  as  being 
injmious  to  them,  and  contrary  to  the  faith  of  the  city,  pledged 
to  them.  Between  the  eleventh  and  eighteenth  of  January, 
these  propositions  were  considered  and  rejected  by  the  Commit- 
tee ;  the  first,  unanimously ;  the  second,  by  a  majority  of  five  out 
of  nine.  As  the  decision  of  these  questions  involved  great 
responsibility,  the  Committee,  after  declaring  their  opinion,  that 
there  was  nothing  in  the  proposed  widening  of  South  Market 
Street  contrary  to  the  faith  of  the  city,  requested  the  Mayor  to 
state  to  the  City  Council  the  above  votes,  and  communicate  their 
determination  to  proceed  with  the  market  house  according  to 
the  present  location  and  dimensions,  unless  the  City  Council 
should  expressly  direct  otherwise ;  and  declaring  their  deliberate 
judgment,  that  no  other  change  should  be  permitted,  except  thajt 
of  removing  the  cellar  walls,  and  erecting  it  of  the  present 
dimensions,  with  the  centre  coinciding  with  the  centre  of  Faneuil 
Hall,  and  this  only  on  the  condition  that  the  proprietors  of  the 
north  block  of  stores  consent  to  pay  all  expenses  consequent  on 
such  removal. 

The  Mayor  accordingly  communicated  to  the  City  Council  a 
very  long  and  elaborate  report,  showing  that  the  widening  of 
South  Market  Sti'eet  was  no  direct  or  virtual  violation  of  the 
faith  of  the  city  to  the  proprietors  of  the  north  block  of  stores ; 
and  stating  the  grounds  on  which  the  Committee  had  seen  fit  to 
reject  the  several  projects  for  an  alteration  in  the  existing  location 
and  dimensions  of  the  new  market. 

The  City  Council  concurred  in  all  the  views  of  the  Commit- 
tee, and  dkected  them  to  proceed  in  the  manner  they  had  before 
ordered. 

At  this  period,  arrangements  were  commenced  for  taking  down 
all  the  buildings  pm-chased  to  the  northward  of  Bray's  Wharf,  and 
for  clearing  the  entke  space,  preparatory  to  the  sale  of  the  south 
block  of  store  lots.  And,  in  the  course  of  the  month  of  Febru- 
ary, 1825,  deeds  were  received  from  the  proprietors  of  Long 
"Wharf,  and  the  pm-chase  money  for  them  paid;  the  claims  of 


136  MUNICIPAL  mSTOKY. 

tenants  who  had  been  removed  were  settled,  and  the  south  lots 
prepared  for  sale.  The  Committee  also  avowed  their  intention 
to  recommend  to  the  City  Council  to  make  no  more  purchases  of 
estates  in  the  vicinity  of  Butler's  Row ;  declaring,  at  the  same  time, 
their  opinion,  that  it  would  be  for  the  interest  of  the  city  if  the 
Mayor  could  induce  private  individuals  to  purchase  lands  in  that 
vicinity,  for  further  extending  the  improvement  in  that  direction. 
This  declaration  was  made  with  reference  to,  and  in  aid  of,  a 
plan  of  David  Greenough,  which  had  for  its  object  the  entire 
closing  of  Butler's  Row. 

On  the  seventh  of  this  month,  the  Committee  were  deprived 
of  one  of  its  most  active  and  talented  members,  by  the  resigna- 
tion of  Mr.  Alderman  Benjamin,  whose  practical  skill,  scientific 
acquirements,  experience,  and  great  judgment,  as  an  architect, 
had  largely  contributed  to  the  success  and  extensiveness  of  this 
important  improvement,  as  he  had  been,  in  every  stage  of  the 
building  of  the  new  market  house,  joined  in  council  with  Alex- 
ander Parris,  the  employed  architect,  in  devising  and  improving 
its  original  plan. 

Mr.  Alderman  Eddy  was  elected  successor  to  ]VIr.  Benjamin 
on  the  Special  Committee. 

In  the  month  of  March,  the  Committee  purchased  the  estate 
of  D.  Tucker,  on  the  Long  Wharf,  for  the  purpose  of  opening 
what  is  now  called  Commercial  Street  to  the  Long  Wharf;  and, 
after  obtaining  the  sanction  of  the  City  Council,  they  also  pur- 
chased, at  the  cost  of  thu-ty-six  thousand  dollars,  the  estates  of 
William  Welsh,  Henry  Lienow,  and  of  the  heirs  of  Mrs.  Hoff- 
man; the  object  being  to  open  a  thirty-five  feet  street  in  the 
du-ection  of,  and  including,  the  Roebuck  Passage. 

On  the  thhty-first  of  this  month,  the  twenty-two  store  lots, 
constituting  the  south  block,  including  thirty-tlu:ee  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-five  square  feet  of  land,  were  sold  for 
four  hundred  and  three  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-three 
dollars,  it  being  eleven  dollars  and  thirty-two  cents  the  square 
foot. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  April,  the  Faneuil  Hall  Committee 
made  a  report  to  the  Common  Council,  stating  the  amount  paid 
for  land  pm-chased,  and  for  the  streets  laid  out,  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  new  market  house,  with  the  amount  received  for 
store  lots ;  and,  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  April,  1825,  in  con- 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  137 

formity  with  previous  arrangements,  the  corner  stone  of  the  new 
market  house  was  laid  ^  in  the  presence  of  the  City  Council  and 
a  large  concourse  of  citizens,  there  having  been  deposited  under 
it,  inclosed  in  a  leaden  case,  a  specimen  of  all  the  coins  of  the 
United  States,  a  map  of  the  city,  all  the  newspapers  of  the  city 
published  on  that  day,  and  a  silver  plate,  containing  the  names 
of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Common  Council,  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  Executive  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. 

1  See  Appendix  I. 


12' 


CHAPTER  X. 

CITY   GOVEEmiENT.     1824-1825. 

Jo  SI  AH   QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

Proceedings  relative  to  tlie  House  of  Industry  —  Opposition  of  the  Overseers 
of  the  Poor  to  the  Measures  of  the  City  Council  —  Sale  of  the  Alnashouse  In 
Leverett  Street  —  The  Paupers  transferred  to  the  House  of  Industry  —  The 
question  of  applying  to  the  Legislature  for  a  Modification  of  the  Powers 
claimed  by  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  submitted  to  a  General  Meeting  of 
the  Citizens  —  Its  Kesult  —  Death  of  Alderrnan  Hooper  —  Claims  of  PoKtlcal 
Parties  for  the  use  of  Faneuil  Hall  —  Difficulties  relative-  to  the  Board  of 
Health — Change  in  that  Department — Visit  and  Reception  of  General 
Lafayette. 

Immediately  after  the  organization  of  the  city  government,  in 
May,  1824,  a  committee,  consisting  of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen 
Child,  Benjamin,  and  Eddy,  with  Messrs.  E.  Williams,  Shaw, 
Frothingham,  Otis,  Barry,  Upham,  and  Davis,  of  the  Common 
Council,  were  appointed  to  consider  the  best  mode  of  disposing 
of  the  Almshouse,  with  authority  to  sell  it,  at  a  sum  not  less 
than,  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  July,  the  Directors  of  the  House  of  In- 
dustry reported  to  the  City  Council  their  receipts  and  expendi- 
tures on  account  of  that  institution,  its  prosperous  state,  and  the 
necessity  of  a  stockade  fence  around  it ;  and  a  committee,  con- 
sisting of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Patterson  and  Eddy,  with  Messrs. 
Wales,  Russell,  William  Wright,  and  Goddard,  were  appointed, 
with  full  authority  to  transfer  to  the  House  of  Industry  all  the 
inmates  of  the  Almshouse,  with  the  concmTcnce  of  the  Overseers 
of  the  Poor.  This  Committee,  in  repeated  interviews  wdth  those 
Overseers,  stated  the  completion  and  success  of  the  House  of 
Industry ;  its  special  adaptation  to  the  class  of  poor  then  in  the 
Almshouse,  its  chief  design  being  to  supply  them  with  a  varied 
succession  of  healthful  employment,  on  the  land  and  in  the 
House,  according  to  the  season  of  the  year,  their  age,  sex,  and 
capacity,  thus  enabling  them  to  do  something  for  then  own  sup- 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  139 

port,  and  adding  to  the  comfort  of  the  respectable  poor,  by  a 
pure  atmosphere,  a  wider  space  for  exercise,  and  scenes  more 
congenial  to  the  human  mind,  than  an  almshouse  in  the  midst 
of  a  populous  city  could  afford ;  that  those  who  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  House  of  Industry  the  last  year  with  reluctance, 
were  not  only  satisfied,  but  grateful  and  happy  in  the  change. 

The  Committee  requested  the  Overseers  to  examine  for  them- 
selves the  coiTectness  of  these  assertions ;  and,  after  stating  that 
the  experiment  already  made  had  convinced  the  City  Council  of 
the  economy,  humanity,  and  acceptableness  to  the  poor  of  the 
House  of  Industry,  pressed  the  expediency  of  immediately  trans- 
ferring the  inmates  of  the  Almshouse  to  the  new,  dry,  and  clean 
edifice  at  South  Boston,  where  they  might  enjoy  the  comfort  and 
advantage  of  a  residence  in  the  country  during  the  ensuing 
summer. 

The  Committee  stated  that  the  interest  of  the  city  required 
that  the  transfer  should  not  be  delayed ;  as  a  negotiation  then 
proceeding  for  the  sale  of  the  house  in  Leverett  Street  would  be 
embarrassed  by  an  opposition  to  the  views  of  the  City  Council. 
They,  therefore,  proposed  an  immediate  removal  of  all  the  poor 
to  the  House  of  Industry,  except  the  sick  and  the  maniacs  ;  for 
whom  suitable  attendants  would  be  provided  by  the  city,  in  the 
Almshouse  in  Leverett  Street,  under  the  superintendence  of  the 
Overseers  of  the  Poor,  until  that  institution  could  be  entirely 
closed. 

They  stated  that  it  was  not  the  object  of  the  City  Council  to 
deprive  the  Overseers  of  their  guardianship  of  the  poor,  but  to 
render  their  labors  more  easy  and  efficient,  by  adopting  a  system 
of  measures  suited  to  the  increasing  population  of  the  city. 
From  that  cause,  the  office  of  overseer  had  become  so  burden- 
some, that  in  one  ward  three  citizens  had  been  recently  succes- 
sively chosen  and  successively  declined.  These  objections  would 
be  -lessened  when  those  officers  "were  released  from  responsibili- 
ties relative  to  the  place  appointed  for  the  residence  of  the  poor; 
except  those  included  in  their  visitatorial  power. 

The  Committee  stated  that,  after  the  transfer  of  the  poor  to 
South  Boston,  it  was  the  intention  of  the  City  Council  that  aU 
the  poor  "in  the  House  of  Industry  and  House  of  Correction 
should  be  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Directors  of  the 
House  of  Industry ;  that  all  other  poor  within  the  limit  of  the 


140"  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

city,  in  the  hospital  and  in  families,  to  be  under  the  care  of  the 
Overseers  of  the  Poor,  who  were  to  have  the  exclusive  manage- 
ment and  distribution  of  all  eleemosynary  funds,  and  of  all  such 
as  the  City  Council  may  provide  for  the  poor  out  of  the  house;" 
considering  these  services  of  the  Overseers  to  include  an  appli- 
cation of  time  and  labor  sufficient  for  any  city  to  claim  gratui-- 
tously  of  any  individual. 

These  views  were  not  only  repeated  by  the  Committee  at 
several  interviews,  but  were  set  forth  at  large  by  them  in  a  letter 
to  the  Overseers,  dated  the  twenty-fifth  of  June,  1824,  and  signed 
by  the  Mayor,  David  W.  Child,  James  Savage,  and  Eliphalet 
Williams,  without  any  other  effect  than  that  which  will  here- 
after be  stated. 

While  the  preceding  controversy  was  pending,  the  Overseers 
of  the  Poor  raised  another  difficulty,  relative  to  their  accounta^ 
bility  to  the  City  Council  for  the  expenditure  of  public  moneys. 
By  the  ordinance  "  establishing  a  system  of  accountability  in  the 
expenditures  of  the  city,"  passed  on  the  twenty-second  of  August, 
1824,  no  moneys  could  be  paid  out  of  the  city  treasury,  unless 
vouched  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  Board,  under 
whose  authority  the  expenditure  had  been  made,  and  unless 
passed  by  the  joint  Committee  of  accounts  of  the  City  Council-. 
The  Overseers  having  drawn  an  order  on  the  City  Treasurer, 
without  regarding  the  provisions  of  the  city  ordinance,  which, 
not  being  accepted,  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  on  the  twenty-fifth 
of  September,  1824,  addressed  a  remonstrance  to  the  City  Coun- 
cil, stating  that,  "  under  the  town,  the  subscription  of  the  Over- 
seers to  the  grants  and  allowances,  contained  in  their  draft  book, 
was  deemed  a  sufficient  voucher  for  the  Treasurer ; "  that  the 
delivery  of  the  original  biUs  and  instruments,  authenticating  the 
claims  of  the  Overseers,  "  would  be  a  hinderance  in  the  discharge 
of  their  official  duties,  and  endanger  a  loss  by  the  city ; "  that 
many  of  them  related  to  adjustments  and  transactions  between 
them  and  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  or  Selectmen  of  other  towns, 
and  ought  to  be  retained  in  their  hands ;  that  in  cases  of  disburse- 
ments made  by  the  Overseers,  in  their  respective  wards,  to  poor 
persons  at  their  dwellings  occasionally,  according  to  their  imme- 
diate exigencies,  many  inconveniences  were  suggested ;  and  mea- 
sures of  the  City  Council  were  requested,  relieving  them  from  the 
operation  of  the  ordinance  relative  to  accountability. 


CITY  GOVERMIENT.  141 

This  memorial  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil, consisting  of  the  Mayor  and  Alderman  Odiorne,  and  Messrs. 
Coolidge,  Prouty,  and  Morse,  of  the  Common  Council,  who,  on 
the  eighteenth  of  October,  1824,  reported  that  they  had  an  inter- 
view with  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  and  heard  and  considered 
all  their  suggestions,  and  that  they  cannot  perceive  why  the  par- 
ticular provisions  of  that  ordinance  are  not  as  equally  applicable 
to  the  expenditures  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  as  to  those  of  other 
boards  and  individuals  intrusted  with  the  disbursement  of  public 
moneys,  and  that  they  see  no  practical  difficulty  or  inconvenience 
that  will  result  from  the  applicability  of  the  ordinance  in  question 
to  their  expenditure  ;  but,  on  tjie  contrary,  in  their  judgment,  it 
would  be  productive  of  great  satisfaction.  The  Committee  then 
proceeded  to  state  the  expenditures  of  the  Overseers,  during  the 
last  cuiTent  year,  to  have  been  upwards  of  thkty  thousand  dol- 
lars, arranged  under  four  general  heads  :  —  1.  Salaries  and  sums 
paid  for  professional  services.  2.  Payments  made  to  insane 
hospitals  and  other  towns.  3.  Payments  of  out  of  door  grants 
and  pensions.  4.  Payments  for  articles  and  provisions  purchased 
for  the  house.  As  to  the  first,  amounting  to  near  four  thousand 
dollars,  the  Overseers  could  not  be  subjected  to  greater  inconve- 
nience than  that  to  which  other  salaried  officers  were,  who  are 
paid  by  bills  certified  by  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the 
board  making  the  contract.  It  was  obviously  expedient  that  a 
similar  principle  should  be  applied  to  all  accounts  for  salaries. 
Indeed  the  chief  objection  of  the  Overseers  to  the  requisition 
seemed  to  be  the  trouble  it  would  occasion  them.  As  to 
the  second  head,  amounting  to  upwards  of  twenty-five  hun- 
dred dollars,  the  Committee  apprehended  no  great  inconve- 
nience could  arise  after  an  account  was  liquidated  and  the 
balance  struck,  for  the  account  to  be  certified  by  the  chair- 
man of  the  board  that  passed  it.  The  objection  made  was, 
that  the  Overseers  would  be  subjected  to  unnecessary  trovible  to 
go  to  the  office  of  the  auditor,  in  case  of  any  necessity  of  recur- 
rence to  those  accounts.  This  inconvenience,  the  Committee 
apprehended,  would  be  counterbalanced  by  the  great  public  con- 
venience and  secmity,  from  having  all  the  public  accounts  of  all 
the  expending  individuals  and  boards  deposited  in  one  office,  in 
one  systematic  arrangement,  under  the  direct  superintendence  of 
a  committee  of  the  City  Council.     As  to  the  third  head  of  pay- 


142  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

» 

ments,  amounting  to  upwards  of  eight  thousand  dollars,  all  that 
would  be  required  was,  that  a  list  of  the  names  of  all  the  pen- 
sioners, or  those  to  whom  grants  were  made,  should  be  transmit- 
ted, certified  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Overseers,  that  they  have 
been  allowed  by  vote  of  the  Board.  And  as  to  weekly  distribu- 
tions of  the  Overseers  in  the  wards,  all  that  would  be  requu-ed 
was,  a  statement  of  an  account  by  the  expending  overseer,  speci- 
fying the  names  of  the  person  relieved,  and  a  certificate  of  the 
Chairman  of  the  Overseers,  that  the  account  had  been  passed  by 
the  Board.  It  was  objected  by  the  Overseers,  that  giving  publi- 
city to  the  name  of  the  person  relieved,  might  sometimes  occa- 
sion pain  to  such  person.  The  Committee,  however,  were  of 
opinion,  that  it  was  the  right  of  society  to  know  how  the  public 
moneys  are  in  such  cases  applied.  Poverty,  when  it  is  not  the 
consequence  of  vice  or  crime,  is  no  disgrace ;  when  it  is  the  con- 
sequence of  either,  it  is  not  entitled  to  the  consideration  which 
the  objection  implies.  As  to  the  fom-th  head,  amounting  to 
nearly  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  the  payments  made  under  it  are, 
in  every  respect,  precisely  similar  to  those  of  other  city  expendi- 
tures, and  there  can  be  no  reason  why  they  should  not  be  subject 
to  the  same  system  of  accountability.  The  Duectors  of  the 
House  of  Industry,  whose  relations  to  the  city  and  responsibili- 
ties are  altogether  similar  to  those  of  the  Overseers  (except  only 
that  they  have  no  discretionary  power  to  disbm'se  money  out 
of  the  house)  find  no  embarrassment  from  the  provisions  of  the 
ordinance,  and  the  Committee  declared  their  opinion  that  the 
experiment  in  its  effects  would  result  in  being  a  gi'eat  satisfac- 
tion to  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  instead  of  an  annoyance. 

The  reluctance  thus  exhibited  by  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  to  be 
subjected  to  the  same  principles  of  accountability  which  the  City 
Council  had  established,  with  regard  to  all  boards  and  individu- 
als who  had  the  expenditures  of  public  moneys,  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  the  minds  of  the  Committee.  This  was  strength- 
ened by  their  unyielding  opposition  to  the  removal  of  the  poor 
to  the  institution  at  South  Boston,  after  the  urgent  solicitation 
of  the  Committee  for  such  removal,  expressed  in  then-  letter  of 
the  twenty-fifth  of  June  preceding ;  although  there  were  only 
eighty  in  the  class  of  sick  and  maniacs  out  of  more  than  three 
hundred  inmates  then  in  the  Almshouse.  The  great  majority 
of  these  they  alleged  were  not  capable  of  labor  and  not  suited^to 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  143 

the  mode  of  relief  provided  for  them  in  the  House  of  Industry,  and 
accordingly  refused  to  assent  to  the  transfer  of  more  than  forty. 
These  they  discharged  in  the  mode  they  before  adopted,  and  of 
this  number  only  thirty-tivo  could  be  persuaded  to  go  to  South 
Boston.  It  was  also  soon  ascertained  that  several  of  these  pau- 
pers, who,  after  having  been  discharged  by  the  Overseers,  had 
refused  to  go  to  the  House  of  Industry,  and  others  who  had  run 
away  from  that  establishment,  wholesome  restraint  being  unsuited 
to  then-  idle  and  vicious  habits,  had  been  again  received  into  the 
Almshouse  in  Leverett  Street,  without  any  notice  being  given  to 
the  Directors  of  the  House  of  Industry  and  the  City  Council. 

These  proceedings  were  so  destructive  of  the  discipline  of  this 
institution,  that  the  Committee  resolved,  on  the  fourth  of  Sep- 
tember, to  make  a  final  attempt  to  effect,  if  possible,  a  transfer 
of  those  inmates  ;  and  accordingly  on  that  day,  had,  for  that  pur- 
pose, an  interview  with  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  and  received 
from  them  a  statement  that  there  were  one  hundred  and  forty- 
four  adults  and  ninety-nine  children  in  the  Almshouse,  who  were 
neither  sick  nor  maniacs.  And  when  the  Committee  deemed  it 
their  duty  to  require  the  concurrence  of  the  Overseers  in  the  trans- 
fer of  those  paupers  to  the  House  of  Industry,  to  their  surprise 
that  Board,  on  the  tenth  of  November,  passed  a  vote  refusing  to 
concur  in  the  transfer  of  any  of  this  great  number,  for  the  reason 
that  "  they  were  not,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Overseers,  in  a  condi- 
tion to  be  discharged  from  their  care  and  oversight." 

The  Committee  which  had  been  appointed  on  this  subject,  on 
the  seventeenth  of  June,  1824,  therefore  communicated  these 
facts  to  the  City  Council  on  the  fifteenth  of  November,  and, 
without  making  any  comment  on  this  refusal,  declared  their 
opinion  that  "  the  whole  course  of  proceedings  of  th-e  Overseers 
of  the  Poor,  in  relation  to  the  House  of  Industry  and  the  Alms- 
house, as  weU  as  the  great  amount  of  the  cash  expenditures  of 
that  Board,  and  the  obstacles  they  had  thrown  in  the  way  of 
their  accountability  to  the  City  Council,  strongly  indicated  the 
necessity  and  duty  of  the  City  Council  to  obtain,  if  possible, 
that  the  subject  of  the  poor  should  be  placed  on  a  different  foot- 
ing than  that  which  at  present  exists  under  the  laws  of  the  Com- 
monwealth ;  that  the  experience  of  two  years  had  evinced  that 
a  constant  succession  of  embarrassments  had  obstructed  the 
attempts  of  the  City  Council  to  produce  that  amelioration  in  the 


\■^ 


144  ^0  MUNICIPAL  fflSTOEY. 

condition  of  the  poor,  and  that  limitation  of  the  expenditures  of 
that  department  which  was  originally  intended  by  the  wisdom 
of  the  citizens  of  Boston,  when  they  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
House  of  Industry ; "  and  they  "  suggested  to  the  City  CouncU 
the  duty  of  inquiring  whether  these  embarrassments  are  not 
inseparable  from  the  incompatibility  of  the  powers  existing  in, 
or  claimed  by  the  Overseers,  when  brought  into  connection  with 
the  powers  and  authorities  now  unquestionably  vested  by  the 
charter  of  the  city  in  the  City  CouncU ; "  that  "  by  the  theory 
of  this  charter,  the  branches  which  combine  its  legislative  and 
executive  powers,  are  competent  for  the  management  of  all  the 
concerns  of  the  city,  and  among  these  the  care  of  the  poor,  one 
of  the  most  important  in  point  of  expense,  and  one  of  the  most 
critical  in  point  of  interest.  By  the  theory  of  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers this  great  concern  is  thrown  into  the  hands  of  twelve  men, 
chosen  in  wards,  without  much  reference  to  the  greatness  of  the 
pecuniary  trust,  and  still  less  to  the  extent  of  their  claimed  pow- 
ers. Thus,  for  instance,  this  Board  has,  according  to  their  claims, 
a  right  to  expend  what  they  please,  on  whom  they  please,  and 
how  they  please ;  sometimes  supporting  paupers  in  the  house, 
and  sometimes  out  of  the  house  ;  sometimes  paying  them  by 
monthly  and  quarterly  drafts  on  the  treasury  ;  sometimes  paying 
them  by  cash  out  of  their  own  pockets,  and  charging  the  amount 
in  a  weekly  or  monthly  settlement ;  and  in  these  ways  there 
actually  passes  through  their  hands  annually  from  thu'ty  to  forty 
thousand  dollars."  The  Committee  in  this  statement  did  not 
include  the  great  annual  expenditure  of  the  incomes  of  eleemo- 
synary funds,  amounting,  as  is  asserted,  to  a  capital  of  more  than 
one  hundred  thousand  doUars,  over  which  the  Overseers-ulaimed 
entire  control,  and  were  reluctant  authoritatively  to  give  publicity 
to  the  exact  amount.  The  Committee,  after  further  commenting 
on  the  extreme  inconvenience  and  inexpediency  of  this  state  of 
things,  recommended  that  a  Committee  of  both  branches  should 
be  appointed,  and  instructed  to  consider  and  report  at  large  on 
the  subject.  This  report  was  accepted,  and  the  Mayor,  Alder- 
men Odiorne,  Child,  and  Eddy,  and  the  President,  (Oliver)  and 
Messrs.  Savage,  E.  "Williams,  Prouty,  and  Curtis,  of  the  Com- 
mon Council,  were  accordingly  appointed  to  consider  the  general 
relations  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  and  the  city,  and  report 
.  the  measures  which  ought  to  be  adopted  on  the  subject. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  145 

This  Committee,  on  the  twenty-uhith  of  November,  made  a 
report  exhibiting  the  incompatibility  of  the  existing  relations 
between  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  and  the  City  Council  with  the 
interests  of  the  city,  and  recommending  that  the  whole  subject 
should  be  submitted  to  a  general  meeting  of  the  citizens,  and 
proposing  measures  which,  if  sanctioned  by  them,  would  termi- 
nate these  collisions  of  authority.^  To  the  end,  also,  that  if  a 
board  assuming  a  qualified  independence  of  the  City  Council 
should  afterwards  be  permitted  to  exist,  it  should  be  the  result 
of  the  voluntary  act  of  the  citizens,  and  should  not  be  attributa- 
ble to  any  shrinking  from,  or  dereliction  of  duty  on  the  part  of 
the  City  Council. 

The  report  was  accepted  unanimously  in  both  branches  of  the 
City  Council,  and  six  thousand  copies  were  printed  and  imme- 
diately disti'ibuted  throughout  the  city.  A  meeting  of  the  in- 
habitants was  then  called  for  the  sixteenth  of  December  ensu- 
ing. At  this  meeting  very  warm  and  exciting  debates  occurred, 
occupying  the  whole  morning,  and  resulting,  after  several  poll- 
ings, in  a  rejection  of  the  measures  proposed  by  the  City  Coun- 
cil, by  a  majority  of  only  thirty-one,  in  an  assembly  casting  eight 
hundred  votes.  The  proceedings  were  then  so  far  reconsidered, 
as  to  refer  the  whole  subject  to  a  committee  of  twelve  persons, 
who  were  instructed  to  call,  at  their  discretion,  another  general 
meeting  of  the  inhabitants,  at  which  the  votes  on  the  report  they 
might  submit  should  be  taken  by  ballot. 

This  Committee  reported  at  length ;  and,  after  dilating  on  the 
necessity  and  importance  of  the  office  of  overseers  of  the  poor 
from  "  the  fact,  that  overseers  of  the  poor  are  by  law  trustees  of 
various  legacies  and  donations  to  certain  descriptions  of  poor, 
then  amounting  to  ninety  thousand  dollars,  the  income  of  which, 
the  donors,  confiding  in  the  humanity,  prudence,  and  integrity 
of  the  acting  overseers  of  their  day,  and  justly  inferring  that  the 
good  sense  of  the  people  would  lead  them  to  elect  similar  cha- 
racters as  successors  in  after  times,  have  at  various  periods  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  the  overseers  so  chosen,  to  be  applied  in  most 
cases  to  such  as  had  seen  better  days,  and  were  not  resident  in 
the  Almshouse  nor  partakers  of  the  public  bounty  in  other 
ways,"  proceeded  to  declare  their  opinion,  that  "  the  election  of 

1  See  Appendix  K. 
13 


146  MUNICIPAL  HISTOKY. 

the  overseers  by  the  people  is  not  only  conformable  to  the  wishes 
of  the  citizens,  but  an  ancient  practice,  which  cu-cumstances  do 
not  require  them  to  relinquish,"  In  conformity  with  this  opi- 
nion, the  Committee  recommended  to  the  citizens  for  their  adop- 
tion, resolutions  declaring  the  inexpediency  of  complying  with 
the  propositions  submitted  to  them  by  the  City  Council.  The 
Committee  then  appointed  the  nineteenth  of  May  ensuing  for  a 
general  meeting  of  the  citizens,  to  take  into  consideration  then- 
report. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  November,  the  Directors  of  the  House 
of  Industry  again  reported  to  the  City  Council  the  state  of  the 
institution,  congi'atulated  the  public  on  its  success,  and  expressed 
their  sti'ong  hopes  that  great  and  lasting  good  would  result  from 
it  to  the  morals  and  interests  of  the  city,  and  repeated  their 
urgency  for  an  appropriation  of  five  thousand  dollars  for  the 
erection  of  a  stockade  fence,  as  being  advantageous  to  the  present 
institution,  and  essential  to  a  house  of  correction.  The  appro- 
priation required  was  immediately  granted  by  the  City  Council. 

The  sale  of  the  Almshouse  in  Leverett  Street,  in  March,  1825, 
at  length  put  an  end  to  the  controversy  relative  to  the  transfer 
of  the  poor. 

The  Committee  which  had  effected  the  sale  declared  that  no 
delay  ought  to  occur,  in  compliance  with  their  stipulations  rela- 
tive to  clearing  the  house  in  Leverett  Street  of  aU  its  inmates ; 
and  on  their  recommendation,  two  resolves  were  passed  by  the 
City  Council,  directing  all  the  paupers  to  be  removed  to  South 
Boston,  on  or  before  the  fifteenth  of  April  ensuing,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  former  Committee  on  the  subject  of  the  transfer  of 
the  poor  to  the  House  of  Industiy  were  appointed  to  have  an 
interview  with  the  Overseers,  with  authority  to  make  such 
transfer.  Accordingly,  before  that  day,  the  house  in  Leverett 
Street  was  cleared  of  its  inmates,  in  conformity  with  the  re- 
solve of  the  City  Council ;  and,  on  a  petition  of  the  Over- 
seers of  the  Poor,  they  assigned  the  southeast  chamber  of  the 
second  story  in  Faneuil  Hall  to  that  board,  as  a  place  for  then- 
meeting  and  a  deposit  of  their  records.  On  the  eighteenth  of 
April,  the  Committee  charged  with  the  ti-ansfer  of  the  poor 
to  South  Boston  reported  to  the  City  Council  that  it  had 
been  effected,  and  tivo  hundred  and  nine  individuals  had  been 
removed,  making  the  number  now  in  the  House  of  Industry 


CITY  GOVERNINIENT.  147 


cv 


tivo  hundred  and  eighty-one ;  and  that  all  the  inmates,  particu- 
larly the  aged  and  respectable  females,  whose  comfort  and  ac- 
commodation deserved  particularly  to  be  considered,  expressed 
to  the  Committee  their  content  and  gratitude  for  the  change, 
and  their  regret  that  it  had  been  so  long  delayed.  The  City 
Council,  therefore,  after  all  the  difficulties  with  which  they  had 
long  contended,  had  the  great  pleasure  and  satisfaction  of  be- 
holding their  labors,  with  regard  to  the  House  of  Industry, 
crowned  with  complete  success. 

On  the  sixteenth  of  September,  1824,  the  Mayor  announced 
to  the  City  Council  the  death  of  Alderman  Hooper,  a  lawyer  of 
great  promise,  who,  by  his  talents  and  virtues,  had  obtained  an 
extensive  local  influence,  which,  during  the  short  period  he  was 
suffered  to  remain  in  public  life,  he  had  successfully  applied  to 
the  advancement  of  the  best  interests  of  the  city.  A  resolve  was 
immediately  passed,  expressing  deep  sympathy  with  his  family, 
and  a  committee  appointed  to  make  arrangements  for  the  City 
Council  to  attend  the  funeral,  and  to  recommend  such  marks  of 
respect  as  were  justly  due  to  his  vii'tues,  talents,  and  public  ser- 
vices. 

In  November,  the  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  which 
this  event  occasioned,  was  supplied  by  the  election  of  Cyrus 
Alger. 

In  March,  1824,  the  representatives  of  two  political  parties,  came 
before  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  each  claiming  the  use  of  Faneuil 
Hall  on  the  evening  preceding  an  election,  under  ch-cumstances 
which  deeply  excited  the  feelings  of  both.  After  much  deliberation 
that  Board  determined  that  the  right  should  no  longer  depend  upon 
the  priority  of  application,  but  hereafter  by  alternation  ;  and  that 
the  claims  of  the  two  parties  for  the  ensuing  election,  being 
nearly  equal,  should  be  decided  by  ballots,  prepared  by  the  City 
Clerk  in  their  presence ;  it  being  declared,  that  the  unsuccessful 
party  should  have  a  right  to  the  Hall  on  the  evening  of  the  next 
succeeding  election.  In  this  decision  the  representatives  of  the 
contending  parties  acquiesced. 

On  the  nineteenth  April,  1824,  the  joint  Committee  on  quaran- 
tine regulations,  of  which  the  Mayor  was  chairman,  reported, 
that,  by  the  city  charter,  the  whole  subject  relative  to  quarantine 
was  invested  in  the  City  Council ;  that,  in  1822,  they  had  trans- 
ferred those  powers  to  the  Board  of  Health,  who  had  executed 


148  MUXICIPAL  HISTORY. 

them  in  the  character  and  \K-ith  the  attributes  of  an  independent 
board ;  that  doubts  had  arisen  concerning  the  constitutionality 
of  that  transfer;  and  that  this  arrangement  vx'tls  not  consonant 
to  the  spirit  of  the  city  charter,  nor  justified  by  its  provisions ; 
that  those  powers  were  a  personal  and  untransferable  trust  to 
tlie  City  Council ;  that  although  they  must  be  exercised  by  the 
agenev  of  others,  the  body  by  which  they  are  exercised  ought  to 
be  so  organized  that  its  dependence,  in  every  act  of  its  power, 
should  be  felt  and  acknowledged,  otherwise,  the  City  Council 
have  a  responsibility  -v^ithout  power  of  control,  and  the  trust  of 
the  charter  is  violated  or  abandoned :  that  it  was  a  question  of 
great  delicacy  and  seriousness,  worthy  of  the  most  anxious  con- 
sideration of  the  City  Council,  whether  the  exercise  of  those 
powers  by  a  board  like  that  of  the  Commissioners  of  Health, 
regarding  itself  as  independent,  ^vas  a  fulfilment  of  the  obliga- 
tions, ho^wever  ■^'ise  and  respectable  might  be  the  members  of 
that  board ;  and  that,  deeming  it  their  duty  to  propose  a  different 
organization  for  the  exercise  of  that  trust,  the  Committee  re- 
commended the  resolutions  of  the  foUox^TJig  general  tenor :  — 

1.  That  there  should  be  appointed,  in  May,  annually,  health 
commissioners,  by  concurrent  vote  of  the  City  Council. 

2.  That  they  should  have  power  to  carry  into  effect  all  the 
powers  relative  to  the  quarantine  of  vessels,  the  health,  cleanli' 
ness,  and  comfort  of  the  city,  and  the  interment  of  the  dead. 

3.  That  there  should  be,  in  like  manner,  appointed  a  physician 
for  Hospital  Island ;  and  also,  in  case  of  infectious  diseases,  three 
consulting  physicians. 

4.  That  there  should  be  a  joint  committee  annually  appointed, 
to  prepare  rules  and  regulations  and  superintend  the  proceedings 
of  the  Commissioners ;  and,  in  case  of  any  doubt  or  question,  to 
submit  the  subject  for  the  decision  of  the  City  Council. 

These  resolves  were  adopted  in  both  branches,  and  the  subject 
left  for  the  action  of  the  ensuing  City  Council. 

Accordingly,  on  the  third  of  May,  in  the  ensuing  city  year, 
the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Child,  Eddy,  and  Hooper,  ^^-ith  Messrs. 
Eussell,  Morse,  Adan,  Upham,  and  WiUiam  Wright,  of  the 
Common  ComicU,  were  appointed  a  committee  on  that  subject ; 
and,  in  pursuance  of  the  policy  recommended  by  these  resolves, 
the  agency  of  the  Board  of  Health  was  superseded  by  an  ordi- 
nance of  the  City  Council,  passed  on  the  thirt^'-first  of  May, 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  149 

1824,  relative  to  the  police  of  the  city,  by  which  the  whole  sub- 
ject was  placed  under  the  control  of  a  single  commissioner,  as 
has  already  been  stated  in  this  work.^  On  the  same  day,  a  vote 
passed  both  branches  of  the  city,  unanimously  expressing  their 
thanks  to  the  members  of  the  late  Board  of  Health,  for  their 
faithful  and  laborious  services. 

The  visit  of  General  Lafayette  rendered  the  years  1824  and 
1825  a  period  of  universal  jubilee  in  the  United  States.  Although 
the  testimony  of  delight  at  his  presence,  which  cities  and  states 
vied  with  each  other  in  repeating,  belong  to  the  history  of  the 
nation,  yet  the  proceedings  of  the  municipality  of  Boston,  as  the 
triumphal  procession  swept  through  its  precincts,  requires  here  a 
brief  notice  and  distinct  reminiscence. 

In  March,  1824,  the  Mayor,  in  compliance  with  a  vote  of  the 
City  Council,  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Lafayette. 

Boston,  U.  S.  A.,  20  March,  1824. 

Sir,  —  Your  Intention  to  visit  the  United  States  has  been  made  known  to  Its 
citizens  by  the  proceedings  of  their  National  Legislature.  The  city  of  Boston 
shares  In  the  universal  pleasure  which  the  expectation  of  so  Interesting  an  event 
has  diffused ;  but  It  has  causes  of  gratification  peculiarly  Its  own.  Many  of  Its 
inhabitants  recollect,  and  aU  have  heard  of  your  former  residence  In  this  metro- 
polis ;  of  the  delight  with  which  you  were  here  greeted  on  your  second  visit  to 
this  country ;  and  of  the  acclamation  of  a  grateful  multitude  which  attended  you 
when  sailing  from  this  harbor,  on  your  last  departure  from  the  United  States ; 
and  also  of  tliat  act  of  munificence,  by  which  In  later  times  you  extended  the 
hand  of  relief  in  their  distress.  These  circumstances  have  impressed  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  this  city  a  vivid  recollection  of  your  person,  and  a  peculiar  Inte- 
rest in  your  character,  endearing  you  to  their  remembrance  by  sentiments  of 
personal  gratitude,  as  well  as  by  that  sense  of  national  obhgation  with  which  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  are  universally  penetrated. 

With  feeUngs  of  this  kind,  the  City  Council  of  Boston,  in  accordance  with  the 
general  wish  of  their  constituents,  have  directed  me  to  address  this  letter  to  you, 
and  to  express  the  hope  that,  should  It  comport  with  your  convenience,  you 
would  do  them  the  honor  to  disembark  In  this  city,  and  to  communicate  the 
assurance  that  no  event  could  possibly  be  more  grateful  to  its  inhabitants  ;  that 
nowhere  could  you  meet  with  a  more  cordial  welcome ;  that  you  could  find 
nowhere  hearts  more  capable  of  appreciating  your  early  zeal  and  sacrifices  in  the 
cause  of  American  freedom,  or  more  ready  to  acknowledge  and  honor  that  cha- 
racteristic uniformity  of  virtue,  with  which  through  a  long  life,  and  In  scenes  of 
unexampled  difficulty  and  danger,  you  have  steadfastly  maintained  the  cause  of 
an  enlightened  civil  liberty  in  both  hemispheres. 

Very  respectfully,  I  am  your  obedient  servant, 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor  oftlie  City  of  Boston. 

1  See  ch.  v.  p.  73. 
13* 


150  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 


ANSWER    OP    LAFAYETTE. 

To  the  Mayor  of  tie  City  of  Boston :  Paris,  May  26,  1824. 

Sir,  —  Amidst  the  new  and  high  marks  of  benevolence  the  people  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  and  their  representatives  have  lately  deigned  to  confer  upon  me,  I  am 
proud  and  happy  to  recognize  those  particular  sentiments  of  the  citizens  of  Bos- 
ton which  have  blessed  and  delighted  the  first  years  of  my  public  career,  and 
the  (Ti-ateful  sense  of  which  has  ever  since  been  to  me  a  most  valued  reward  and 
support.  I  joyfully  anticipate  the  day,  not  very  remote,  thank  God,  when  I 
may  revisit  the  glorious  cradle  of  American,  and,  in  future,  I  hope,  of  universal 
liberty.  Your  so  honorable  and  gratifying  invitation  would  have  been  directly 
complied  with  in  the  case  to  which  you  allude.  But  while  I  profoundly  felt  the 
honor  intended  by  the  offer  of  a  national  ship,  I  hope  I  shall  incur  no  blame  by 
the  determination  I  have  taken  to  embark,  as  soon  as  it  is  in  my  power,  in  a  pri- 
vate vessel.  Whatever  port  I  first  attain,  I  shall,  with  the  same  eagerness, 
hasten  to  Boston,  and  present  to  its  beloved  and  revered  inhabitants,  as  I  have 
the  honor  to  offer  to  the  City  Council  and  to  you,  sir,  the  homage  of  my  affec- 
tionate gratitude  and  devoted  respect.  Lafayette. 

General  Lafayette  landed  at  New  York  on  the  sixteenth  of 
August,  1824,  amidst  those  demonstrations  of  interest  and  grati- 
tude, which  every  heart  and  hand  in  the  United  States  was  pre- 
pared to  reiterate;  and  on  the  twentieth  he  left  that  city  for 
Boston,  under  a  military  escort.  During  the  whole  course  of  his 
jom'ney,  he  received  continued  evidences  of  general  delight. 
From  the  lines  of  Massachusetts  he  was  attended  by  the  Aids  of 
Governor  Eustis,  and  was  received  by  him  at  his  seat  in  E,ox- 
bmy,  on  the  evening  of  the  twenty-third.  On  the  succeeding 
morning,  seated  in  a  barouche  the  city  had  provided,  he  was 
escorted  by  a  cavalcade  of  more  than  a  thousand  citizens  to  the 
lines  of  Boston,  where  he  was  met  by  the  city  authorities  "in  car- 
riages, with  a  large  military  escort,  and  was  thus  addressed  by 
the  Mayor,  standing  in  the  barouche,  in  which  were  seated  the 
Committee  of  the  City  Council. 

General  Lafayette,  —  The  citizens  of  Boston  welcome  you  on  your 
return  to  the  United  States  ;  mindful  of  your  early  zeal  in  the  cause  of  Ameri- 
can independence,  grateful  for  your  distinguished  share  in  the  perils  and  glories 
of  its  achievement.  AVhen,  urged  by  a  generous  sympathy,  you  first  landed  on 
these  shores,  you  found  a  people  engaged  in  an  arduous  and  e^•entful  struggle 
for  liberty,  with  apparently  inadequate  means  and  amidst  dubious  omens.  After 
the  lapse  of  nearly  half  a  century,  you  find  the  same  people  prosperous  beyond 
all  hope  and  all  precedent ;  their  liberty  secure,  sitting  in  their  strength,  without 
fear  and  without  reproach. 

In  your  youth  you  joined  the  standard  of  three  millions  of  peoi^le,  raised  in  an 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  151 

uncertain  and  unequal  combat.  In  your  advanced  age  you  return,  and  arc  met 
by  ten  millions  of  people,  their  descendants,  who  greet  your  approach  and 
rejoice  in  it.  This  is  not  the  movement  of  a  turbulent  populace,  excited  by 
the  first  laurels  of  some  recent  conqueror.  It  is  a  grave,  moral,  intellectual 
impulse. 

A  whole  people  in  the  enjoyment  of  freedom  as  perfect  as  the  condition  of  our 
nature  permits,  recur  with  gratitude,  increasing  with  the  daily  increasing  sense 
of  their  blessings,  to  the  memory  of  those,  who  by  their  labors  and  in  their  blood 
laid  the  foundation  of  our  liberties. 

Your  name,  sir,  the  name  of  Lafayette,  is  associated  with  the  most  perilous 
and  most  glorious  periods  of  our  Revolution  —  with  the  imperishable  names  of 
Washingion  and  of  that  numerous  host  of  heroes  who  adorn  the  proudest 
archives  of  American  history,  and  are  engraven  in  indelible  traces  on  the  hearts 
of  the  whole  American  people.  Accept  then,  in  the  sincere  spirit  in  which  it  is 
ofifered,  this  simple  tribute  to  your  virtues. 

Again,  sir,  the  citizens  of  Boston  bid  you  welcome  to  the  cradle  of  American 
independence  and  to  scenes  consecrated  with  the  blood  shed  by  the  earliest  mar- 
tyrs in  the  cause. 

REPLY  OF  GENERAL  LAFAYETTE. 

To  the  Mayor  and  People  of  Boston : 

The  emotions  of  love  and  gratitude  which  I  have  been  accustomed  to  feel  on 
my  entering  this  city,  have  ever  mingled  with  a  sense  of  religious  reverence  for 
the  cradle  of  American,  and  let  us  hope  it  will  be  hereafter  said,  of  universal 
liberty. 

"WTiat  must  be  my  feelings,  sir,  at  the  blessed  moment,  when,  after  so  long  an 
absence,  I  find  myself  again  surrounded  by  the  good  citizens  of  Boston.  When 
I  am  so  affectionately,  so  honorably  welcomed,  not  only  by  old  friends,  but  by 
several  successive  generations ;  when  I  can  witness  the  prosperity,  the  immense 
improvements  that  have  been  the  just  reward  of  a  noble  struggle,  virtuous  morals', 
and  truly  republican  institutions. 

I  beg  of  you,  Mr.  Mayor,  Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council,  and  all  of  you, 
beloved  citizens  of  Boston,  to  accept  the  respectful  and  wami  thanks  of  a  heart 
which  has,  for  nearly  half  a  century,  been  particularly  devoted  to  your  illustrious 
city. 

The  Mayor  then  took  a  seat  with  Lafayette. 

The  entrance  of  Lafayette  into  the  city  was  announced  by 
raising  the  American  flag  on  the  cupola  of  the  State  House  and 
on  Dorchester  Heights,  from  whence  a  salute  of  one  hundred  and 
one  guns  was  fired.  The  streets  were  profusely  decorated ; 
arches  with  appropriate  mottoes  were  raised  in  Washington 
Street ;  and  during  his  progress,  for  more  than  three  miles,  all 
the  bells  of  the  city  were  rung,  and  he  was  welcomed  by  more 
than  seventy  thousand  inhabitants  of  the  city  and  its  vicinity. 
Every  roof,  window,  balcony,  and  steeple,  was  put  in  requisition 
by  the  excited  multitude,  which,  by  its  throng,  often  impeded 


152  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

the  progress  of  the  barouche.  The  day  was  cloudless,  cool,  and 
serene,  and  every  circumstance  propitious  to  general  enjoyment. 
On  the  Common,  Lafayette  passed  through  two  lines  formed  by 
several  thousand  children,  pupils  of  the  public  schools,  attired  in 
uniform,  and  each  wearing  his  portrait  stamped  upon  a  ribbon. 
From  the  State  House,  where  his  reception  by  the  Governor  was 
announced  by  a  national  salute  from  the  Common,  he  was 
escorted  to  the  mansion  at  the  corner  of  Beacon  and  Park 
Streets,  which  had  been  obtained  and  fm'nished  for  his  resi- 
dence, during  his  visit,  by  the  city  authorities ;  and  he  after- 
wards attended  a  public  dinner  given  by  them  in  his  honor. 
During  the  week  of  his  continuance  in  the  city,  he  was  escorted 
by  the  Mayor  and  a  Committee  of  the  City  Council,  to  visit 
every  object  of  interest  within  and  around  the  city,  and  no  testi- 
mony of  respect  and  gratitude  was  omitted. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  August,  the  Mayor  acconfpanied  Lafay- 
ette, on  his  departure  for  New  Hampshire,  to  the  lines  of  Boston 
on  Charles  River  Bridge,  where  he  was  received  by  the  aids  of 
the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth  and  an  escort  of  cavahy. 

At  parting,  he  requested  the  Mayor  to  assure  the  citizens  of 
Boston  that  "it  was  impossible  for  words  to  do  justice  to  the 
emotions  excited  in  his  heart  by  the  distinguished  kindness  and 
honor  with  which  he  had  been  welcomed  by  them ;  that  they 
would  ever  be  associated  with  his  most  precious  recollections ; 
and  that  he  warmly  reciprocated  their  expressions  of  respect  and 
regard." 

On  the  second  of  September,  when  Lafayette  returned  from 
New  Hampshire,  an  elegant  entertainment  was  given  him  at  his 
residence  in  Park  Street  by  the  City  Council.  Lafayette  pre- 
sided at  the  table,  and  they  dined  with  him  apparently  as  his 
guests ;  and  this  gratifying  arrangement  formed  an  appropriate 
conclusion  to  the  attention  and  tributes  he  received  from  the  city 
government  of  Boston. 


CHAPTER  XL 

CITY   GOVERmiENT.     1824-1825, 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

State  of  the  Fire  Department — Claims  of  the  Engine  Companies — The 
Resnlt  —  They  surrender  their  Engines  and  resign —  Other  Engine  Compa- 
nies formed —  A  new  Organization  of  the  Fire  Department  recommended  — 
Measures  taken  to  carry  it  into  effect  —  Office  of  Auditor  of  Accounts  esta- 
blished. 

During  the  jfirst  year  of  the  second  administration  of  the  city 
government,  the  City  Council  were  restrained  by  obstacles,  appa- 
rently insm'mountable,  from  any  attempt  to  improve  the  then 
existing  system  of  protection  against  fire,  although  great  changes 
in  it  were  evidently  requisite.  Firewards,  engine,  and  hook  and 
ladder  men,  with  associated  friendly  fire  companies,  constituted 
the  fire  police.  Their  efficiency  chiefly  depended  upon  the  aid 
of  the  inhabitants,  applied  under  the  authority  of  the  firewards. 
They  formed  lanes  of  bystanders,  who,  by  their  direction,  passed 
buckets  of  water,  from  pumps  or  wells  in  the  vicinity,  to  the 
engines  playing  on  the  fire,  and  retm-ned  them  for  further 
supply.  ^  •         ^     ^ 

This  system  of  protection  had  its  origin  in  the  relations  of 
the  colonial  state,  when  the  inhabitants  were  few,  habituated  to 
labor,  and  respect  for  the  rights  of  property  was  general.  Dwell- 
ing-houses being  then  separated  by  gardens  or  vacant  fields, 
extensive  conflagrations  were  infrequent ;  yet,  being  of  wood, 
and  the  means  of  insurance  unattainable,  their  occasional  loss 
kept  alive  the  feeling  of  sympathy  in  the  community.  The  duty 
of  joining  some  fire  company  and  assisting  at  every  fne  was, 
therefore,  regarded  as  imperious. 

At  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  city  government,  Boston 
was  in  a  transition  state,  and  fast  advancing  to  that  period, 
when,  by  the  increase  of  population,  ties  of  individual  interest 
were  diminished.  The  establishment  of  insurance  offices  had, 
in  most  cases,  transferred  the  loss  upon  capitalists;  and  poverty 
and  crime,  multiplying  with  numbers,  began  to  regard  fires  as 


154  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

harvests,  from  the  gleaning  of  which  they  had  not  principle 
enouffh  to  abstain. 

Although  this  state  of  things  was  obvious,  and  its  effects 
began  to  be  felt,  yet  it  was  long  before  the  duty  of  aiding  the 
sufferers  caused  the  necessity  of  imposing  restraint  on  the  general 
interference  of  the  citizens  at  fires  to  be  recognized.  This  reluct- 
ance to  acknowledge  the  effect  of  circumstances  on  the  then 
existing  system  of  protection,  was  peculiarly  strong  among  the 
engine  companies,  in  whom  the  esprit  de  corps  was  active  and 
general.  From  the  earliest  period  of  the  settlement^  the  mem- 
bers of  these  companies  had  been  accustomed  to  regard  them- 
selves as  the  guardians  of  the  city  against  this  element,  and  took 
a  pride  in  the  consciousness  of  then  power.  They  were  a  body 
of  men  energetic  and  fearless.  So  far  from  regarding  their  labors 
as  onerous  and  looking  for  their  reward  in  pecuniary  compensa- 
tion, a  premium  was  often  paid  for  admission  kito  the  compa- 
nies, and  they  deemed  themselves  recompensed  by  a  small  allow- 
ance from  the  town,  sufficient  for  an  annual  social  supper,  by 
exemption  from  militia  duties,  and  the  consciousness  of  useful 
and  acceptable  services  to  their  fellow  townsmen.  Their  engines, 
found  and  supported  by  the  town,  were  without  ornament,  and 
valued  only  for  then*  power.  To  be  first,  nearest,  and  most  con- 
spicuous at  fires,  was  the  ambition  of  the  engine  men  ;  and  the 
use  of  hose,  as  it  had  a  tendency  to  deprive  them  of  this  gi-atifi- 
cation,  was  opposed.  The  hostility  to  any  change  which  should 
induce  its  use,  was  apparently  general.  The  opinion  of  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  then  existing  system  was  riveted  in  the  belief,  and 
fortified  by  the  pride  of  the  engine  companies.  To  doubt  it, 
involved  with  them  an  inevitable  loss  of  popularity ;  and  the 
introduction  of  a  hose  system  was  ridiculed  and  regarded  as  use- 
less. Although  the  citizens  in  general  did  not  coincide  in  the 
opinion  of  the  engine  companies,  and  perceived  the  difficulties  of 
the  subject,  they  were  far  from  being  unanimous  relative  to  the 
improvement  the  state  of  the  department  requu-ed.  The  City 
Council,  therefore,  determined  to  defer  until  a  more  favorable 
moment  the  desired  alterations  ;  and  the  Mayor  prepared  for 
changes  which  he  deemed  inevitable,  by  entering  into  correspond- 
ence with  leading  members  of  the  fire  departments  of  New  York 
and  Philadelphia,  whose  systems  of  protection  were  reported  to 
him  as  highly  efficient. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  155 

The  fire  department  was  brought  under  the  consideration  of 
the  City  Council  in  June,  1823,  by  a  petition  of  several  engine 
companies  for  an  additional  compensation  for  their  services. 
The  Committee  to  whom  it  was  referred,  reported  that  the  remu- 
neration already  allowed  was  sufficient,  and  gave  them  leave  to 
withdraw  it.  The  acceptance  of  this  report  gave  the  petitioners 
gi-eat  dissatisfaction  ;  and  the  Mayor  soon  received  notice  from 
the  captains  of  some  of  the  companies  that  they  would  never  be 
content  with  their  present  allowance,  but  that  at  a  proper  season 
they  would  renew  their  application.  The  Mayor  understood, 
from  the  terms  of  this  notice,  that  this  renewal  would  be  made 
in  the  winter,  when  their  services  were  most  important  and 
arduous,  and  when,  therefore,  it  would  be  most  difficult  to 
supply  substitutes.  The  City  Council  consequently,  immediately 
turned  then*  attention  to  the  present  organization,  efficiency,  and 
equipments  of  the  engine  companies,  the  inducements  given  to 
join  them,  and  the  power  of  the  firewards.  These  investigations 
increased  their  dissatisfaction,  and  presented  new  difficulties. 
The  citizens  complained  that  the  firewards  did  not  exercise  their 
authority,  despotic  for  the  emergency,  with  the  same  energy  as 
their  predecessors.  The  firewards  asserted  that  the  citizens  no 
longer  aided  them  in  their  duties,  by  becoming  members  of  the 
fire  companies ;  and  that  while  the  classes  of  population  dis- 
posed to  be  inactive  or  to  depredate  at  fires  increased,  those  who 
were  willing  to  assist  were  much  lessened.  It  was,  therefore, 
more  difficult  to  form  lanes  to  supply  the  engines,  and  impossi- 
ble to  support  them  for  any  length  of  time.  The  multiplication 
of  insurance  offices,  also,  by  diminishing  the  losses  of  the  suffer- 
ers, weakened  the  sense  of  obligation  to  risk  life  and  health  for 
their  relief.  The  engine  companies  were  also  equally  loud  in 
their  complaints.  The  increase  of  population  and  extent  of  the 
city  had  rendered  alarms  more  numerous  and  made  distances 
greater.  They  were  often  obliged,  from  a  deficiency  of  water, 
to  drag  their  engines  some  hundred  feet  from  the  fire  to  the 
pump,  and  then  back  again,  with  the  loss  of  half  of  the  water 
obtained.  In  this  labor  and  in  that  of  working  engines,  the 
citizens  were  not  as  willing  to  aid  as  formerly.  Admission 
into  the  engine  companies  was,  indeed,  yet  regarded  as  a  pri- 
vilege, for  which  from  five  to  eight  doUars  was  paid  by  each 
candidate.     The  companies  were  accustomed  to  have  four  sup- 


156  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

pers  in  a  year,  which  exhausted  their  fees,  fines,  premiums, 
and  allowance  from  the  city.  The  fines  for  failm-e  in  the  mih- 
tia  service  had  been  so  reduced,  that  exemption  from  it  was 
no  longer  a  powerful  inducement  to  enter  the  engme  compa- 
nies. Four  hundred  and  sixty  men  were  their  full  complement, 
but  only  three  hundred  and  twenty  were  enrolled,  and  conse- 
quently not  one  company  had  its  full  complement,  and  one  had 
but  tivelve  members.  The  city  owned  sixteen  fire  engines,  but 
only  fourteen  were  in  service.  A  few  of  them  were  of  great 
power,  but  in  general  they  were  ordinary  in  appearance  and 
workmanship.  Only  eight  hundred  feet  of  hose  belonged  to  all 
the  companies  collectively.  Of  these  each  engine  had  its  pro- 
portion for  its  sole  use ;  and  as  the  screws  were  not  adapted  to 
each  other,  to  act  in  a  conjoined  line  was  impracticable. 

Although  these  facts  were  well  known,  no  general  dissatisfac- 
tion existed  ;  and  it  was  dangerous  for  any  man^s  reputation  for 
sense  or  patriotism  to  question  the  axiom  that  there  was  no 
place  whose  inhabitants  were  more  distinguished  for  alacrity  and 
success  in  extinguishing  fu'es  than  in  Boston.  The  members  of 
the  engine  companies,  who  held  most  firmly  this  opinion,  were 
skilful,  alert,  and  vigorous  men,  experienced  in  the  service  and 
attached  to  it,  and  so  confident  of  their  ability  and  popularity, 
that  several  of  them  said  to  the  Committee  that  if  the  companies 
resigned,  no  individuals  could  be  found  in  the  city  willing  and 
able  to  take  charge  of  the  engines.  All  acknowledged  that  fires 
were  more  destructive  than  formerly ;  but  this  was  attributed 
not  to  any  defect  in  the  system,  but  to  the  want  of  cooperation 
among  the  citizens.  The  remedies  proposed  and  urged  were, 
to  revive  the  ancient  volunteer  fire  companies,  to  enlarge  the  sup- 
ply of  buckets,  and  vest  greater  authority  in  firewards.  The  pro- 
posal of  a  fire  department  which  should  exclude,  instead  of  com- 
pelling the  assistance  of  citizens,  was  received  with  indignation. 
"  Do  you  think,  ^n,"  said  one  of  the  captains  of  the  engines, 
"  that  the  citizens  of  Boston  will  ever  submit  to  be  prohibited 
from  assisting  a  fellow  townsman  in  distress.  Such  sort  of  laws 
may  be  obeyed  in  despotic  countries,  or  in  cities  where  the  inha- 
bitants do  not  feel  for  one  another ;  but  this  is  not  the  case,  nor 
ever  will  be  in  Boston.  No  such  system  can  ever  be  introduced 
into  this  city."  When  the  advantages  of  the  hose  system  were 
suggested,  it  was  answered,  that  it  was  practicable  in  Philadel- 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  157 

phia,  from  the  abundance  and  easy  command  of  water;  but 
Boston  possessed  no  such  facilities.  When  it  was  stated  in 
reply,  that  in  New  York  the  want  of  a  sufficient  head  of  water 
was  supplied  by  stationing  engines  at  intervals  between  the 
water  and  the  fire,  which,  by  playing  into  each  other  successively, 
enabled  the  nearest  to  throw  a  continuous  stream  upon  the  fire. 
The  answer  of  one  of  the  captains  was  characteristic  of  the  state 
of  the  existing  prejudices  on  the  subject.  "  Set  enginemen  at  a 
distance  from  the  fire !  It  will  never  be  submitted  to.  Their 
desire  is  always  to  be  in  the  hottest  of  the  battle.  The  nearer 
the  fire  the  higher  the  post  of  honor.  Their  struggle  is,  who 
shall  get  to  it  the  first,  and  who  keep  the  nearest.  It  would  be 
more  difficult  to  keep  a  Boston  engine  back,  in  order  to  play  into 
its  neighbor,  than  it  would  be  to  put  out  the  fire."  Many  thought- 
ful and  intelligent  citizens  had  also  doubts  concerning  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  hose  system ;  and  the  City  Council  concluded, 
after  much  deliberation,  that  it  was  most  prudent  to  postpone 
for  a  time  attempts  to  introduce  improvements  obnoxious  to  so 
many  prejudices. 

During  the  year  1823,  the  whole  damage  received  by  the  city 
from  fires  did  not  amount  to  five  thousand  dollars.  And  this 
uncommon  exemption  from  calamity,  by  diminishing  the  appre- 
hension of  danger,  delayed  expenditures  for  protection. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  September,  1823,  the  engine  compa- 
nies renewed  their  petition,  demand'cd  the  usual  premiums  for  the 
first  and  second  engines  which  arrived  at  the  fire,  and  an  annual 
compensation  of  fifty  dollars  for  each  company,  to  be  disposed 
of  at  their  discretion.  The  Committee  to  whom  this  petition 
was  referred,  were  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Odiorne  and  Eddy, 
with  Messrs.  E.  Williams,  Oliver,  Adan,  and  Wales,  of  the 
Common  Council.  They  had  frequent  interviews  with  the  cap- 
tains and  leading  members  of  the  several  companies  ;  but  the 
ch'cumstances  of  the  department,  and  the  temper  and  language 
in  which  their  claims  were  urged,  made  the  course  to  be  pursued 
very  difficult.  The  season  of  the  year  and  that  which  was 
approaching,  were  those  in  which  any  known  general  derange- 
ment of  the  engine  companies  would  occasion  great  alarm 
among  the  citizens.  The  members  of  those  companies  had 
been  long  in  the  service  of  the  city.  Great  confidence  was 
attached  to  their  experience.  By  many,  the  safety  of  the  city 
14 


158  MUNICIPAL  mSTOEY. 

was  deemed  to  be  essentially  dependent  on  their  continuance. 
In  their  opinion  the  engine  companies  were  composed  of  a  class 
of  citizens  whose  claims  it  was  unsafe  to  deny,  and  in  whatever 
spirit  demanded  they  ought  to  be  granted. 

The  claims  of  these  companies  were,  in  fact,  pressed  in  terms 
indicating  their  belief  that  the  city  could  not  dispense  with 
their  services.  The  Committee  of  the  City  Council  were  told 
plainly,  that  unless  their  petition  was  granted,  they  would  una- 
nimously resign  their  engines.  On  being  asked,  whether  the 
companies  will  not  be  satisfied  with  less  ih.2,i\  fifty  dollars  each, 
the  reply  of  one  of  the  captains  was,  "  No.  We  are  fixed  on 
that  point.    Forty-nine  dollars  and  ninety-nine  cents  will  not  do ! " 

After  this  evidence  of  feeling  and  opinion,  a  majority  of  the 
Committee  came  to  the  conclusion  that  any  grant  made  under 
such  circumstances  would  be  considered  as  an  "  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  dependence  of  the  city  upon  the  individuals  who 
then  composed  those  companies,  be  attributed  to  fear,  and  be 
only  a  temporary  expedient  and  a  source  of  future  embarrass- 
ment ;  that  the  permanent  safety  of  a  city  should  never  be 
allowed  to  be  regarded  as  dependent  on  the  capricious  estimate 
of  their  own  importance  by  any  set  of  men ;  but  that  general 
confidence  should  be  permitted  to  rest  on  no  other  basis  than  the 
conviction  that  there  exists  always  among  the  mass  of  its  citi- 
zens talents  and  will  adequate  to  self-protection. 

The  Committee,  therefore,  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  November 
made  a  report,  which  was  accepted  by  the  City  Council,  that  it 
was  not  expedient  to  grant  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners,  the  pre- 
sent exemptions  and  compensations  being  a  sufficient  remunera- 
tion. 

In  anticipation  of  possible  difficulty,  however,  the  Aldermen 
immediately  instituted  inqukies  in  their  several  wards,  and  ascer- 
tained that  the  citizens  generally  coincided  in  the  views  of  the 
city  authorities  on  these  claims,  and  that  if  the  present  compa- 
nies surrendered  then'  engines,  others  might  be  formed  without 
difficulty. 

The  City  Council,  however,  being  unwilling  wholly  to  reject 
the  petition  of  the  engine  companies,  on  the  sixth  of  November, 
appointed  another  committee,  consisting  of  the  Mayor,  Alder- 
men Patterson,  Eddy,  and  Hooper,  with-  Messrs.  Swett,  Wins- 
low,  Wright,  Tappan,  and  Adan,  of  the  Common  Council,  who, 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  159 

on  the  twenty-fourth  of  that  month,  made  an  elaborate  report, 
embracing  all  the  topics  of  controversy,  and  after  doing  full  just- 
ice to  the  efficiency  of  the  engine  companies,  proceeded  to  show- 
that  their  present  compensation  and  privileges  were  greater  than 
those  granted  to  the  engine  companies  of  New  York,  who  fomid 
no  difficulty  in  Iceeping  their  numbers  full.  To  show,  however, 
the  appreciation  of  the  City  Council  of  the  services  of  the  Bos- 
ton enginemen,  the  Committee  proposed  to  increase  the  pre- 
miums of  the  first  and  second  companies  which  should  arrive 
earliest  at  a  fire,  and  an  annual  allowance  of  twenty-five  dollars 
to  each  company,  to  be  used  at  their  discretion,  which  should 
have  on  the  first  of  January  in  each  year  a  complement  of  twenty 
members.     This  report  was  accepted  in  both  branches. 

When  this  result  was  announced  to  the  companies,  their  cap- 
tains came  before  the  Mayor,  and  gave  notice  that  they  should 
deliver  up  their  engines  and  resign  their  offices  at  their  respective 
engine  houses  on  the  first  day  of  the  ensuing  December. 

Accordingly,  at  the  hom-  assigned  on  that  day,  the  captain  of 
each  company,  at  his  engine  house,  defivered  its  keys,  his  engine 
and  apparatus,  all  in  good  order,  to  members  of  the  Board  of 
Aldermen,  who  attended  to  receive  them,  and  who  immediately 
delivered  them  into  the  custody  of  able  and  active  bodies  of  citi- 
zens, who  had  volunteered  their  services  on  the  emergency.  On 
the  evening  of  the  same  day  the  Mayor  announced  to  the  City 
Council,  that  the  fire  department  of  the  city  was  in  its  usual 
state  of  efficiency,  and,  in  the  com'se  of  the  month  of  December, 
engine  companies  were  organized  in  connection  with  every 
engine. 

Such  was  the  system  of  protection  against  fires  at  the  end  of 
the  second  year  of  the  city.  These  arrangements  were  the  best 
the  state  of  public  feeling  and  private  interest  would  admit.  The 
Mayor  regarded  them  as  temporary ;  and,  being  convinced  that 
a  ra,dical  change  must  be  effected  in  the  whole  system,  he  con- 
tinued the  correspondence  he  had  opened  with  the  chief  mem- 
bers of  the  fire  departments  of  Philadelphia  and  New  York,  to 
satisfy  his  own  mind  on  the  true  principles  on  which  an  efficient 
organization  of  a  system  of  protection  on  this  subject  should  be 
established. 

The  same  general  views  concerning  the  inefficiency  of  the  ex- 
isting system  were  also  entertained  by  the  members  of  the  City 


160  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

Council,  and  had  been  confirmed  and  made  evident  to  the  citi- 
zens by  a  conflagration  in  Beacon  Street,  on  the  seventh  of  July 
preceding,  which  continued  through  the  whole  day,  and  con- 
sumed fifteen  valuable  dweUing-houses,  the  loss  being  estimated 
at  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  exclusive  of  furniture. 

The  inefficiency  of  the  fire  department  seemed  now  to  be  gene- 
rally felt  and  acknowledged ;  but  no  evidence  was  given  of  such 
dissatisfaction  with  the  existing  system  as  to  justify  an  attempt 
to  change  it  altogether..  The  old  complaints,  against  the  fire- 
wards,  of  the  want  of  fire  companies  and  of  buckets,  and  of  the 
indifference  of  citizens,^  were  reiterated,  and  the  old  remedies 
proposed.  The  diversity  of  opinion  on  this  subject,  and  the 
force  of  prejudice  was  so  great,  that  an  attempt  to  introduce  any 
efficient  measures  for  a  change  of  system  was  still  deemed  hope- 
less, until  the  seventh  of  April,  1825,  when  a  conflagration  occur- 
red in  Doane  Street,  and  extended  from  State  Street  to  Central 
Street  on  the  one  side,  and  from  Broad  Street  to  Kilby  and 
Liberty  Streets  on  the  other,  destroying  in  the  course  of  a  few 
hours  fifty-three  houses  and  stores,  at  a  loss  of  half  a  million  of 
dollars.  The  scene,  on  this  occasion,  was  one  of  extreme  em- 
barrassment and  confusion.  The  lanes,  formed  by  the  firewards 
with  great  difficulty,  were  soon  broken  or  deserted,  and  great 
depredations  were  committed  on  property,  brought  forth  indiscri- 
minately and  left  unprotected  in  the  streets.  From  the  want  of 
water,  the  engines  were  dragged  one  thousand  feet  to  the  dock, 
and  half  the  water  obtained  was  lost  before  they  could  be  drag- 
ged back  again  and  put  into  operation. 

This  calamity  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  citizens.  The 
want  of  water,  and  of  the  means  to  bring  a  continuous  stream 
of  it  on  the  flames,  were  apparent ;  and  it  became  evident,  that 
the  change  in  the  habits  and  sympathies  of  the  population,  and 
the  recent  and  increasing  infusion  of  foreigners,  rendered  a  change 
in  the  organization  of  a  system  of  defence  against  fire  and  a 
more  efficient  police  essential. 

The  Mayor  deemed  this  a  favorable  opportunity  to  exert  offi- 
cial influence  for  the  introduction  of  an  independent  fire  depart- 
ment; and,  under  the  sanction  of  a  Committee  of  the  City 
Council,  consisting  of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Baxter,  Odiorne, 

^  See  p.  155. 


CITY  GOVERNIVIENT.  161 

and  Patterson,  with  Messrs.  Goddard,  S.  K.  Williams,  Froth  in  g- 
ham,  Haskell,  and  William  Wright,  of  the  Common  Council, 
made,  in  April,  1825,  a  report,  stating  the  causes  of  the  existing 
deficiencies  in  the  system  of  defence,  and  the  diversity  of  opinion 
concerning  the  remedies,  each  of  which  were  analyzed  and  ex- 
plained. Among  these,  reliance  upon  associated  fire  companies 
and  the  aid  of  the  citizens,  although,  at  the  time,  of  all  others 
the  most  popular  and  generally  acceptable,  the  report  represented 
as  altogether  mistaken ;  and  that  it  would  be  encouraging  false 
hopes  and  a  false  system,  if  the  Committee  did  not  declare  their 
opinion  concerning  its  inadequacy  to  protection,  and  did  not 
express  themselves  decidedly  in  favor  of  introducing  a  supply  of 
water  to  the  engines  through  the  means  of  hose,  instead  of  by 
lanes  formed  of  bystanders.  The  report  then  submitted  eight 
resolutions  for  the  adoption  of  the  City  Council ;  the  four  first 
of  which  had  for  their  object  to  satisfy  their  fellow-citizens,  by 
actual  experiment,  of  the  impracticability  of  reviving  the  ancient 
system  of  fire  companies.  To  test  the  possibility  of  this  resort, 
the  resolutions  proposed  an  invitation  to  householders  and  other 
citizens,  to  form  themselves  into  societies  for  their  mutual  pro- 
tection against  fire ;  and  a  system  of  organizing  such  societies, 
under  the  sanction  of  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  and  prescribed 
the  number  of  buckets,  fire  bags,  and  other  instruments  usual  and 
proper  for  the  service,  which  each  company  should  provide ;  and 
the  authority  which  the  members  of  such  companies  should 
exercise  at  fires ;  with  an  assurance  that  the  City  Council  would 
apply  to  the  State  Legislature  to  invest  them  with  all  requisite 
powers.  This  scheme,  although  carefully  devised,  when  pro- 
posed to  the  citizens,  proved  an  absolute  failure.  For,  although 
some  associations  were  formed,  the  attempt  evidenced  the  utter 
hopelessness  of  any  such  reliance.  Three  of  the  remaining  reso- 
lutions proposed  the  constructing  of  three  reservoirs  in  suitable 
places,  each  containing  twenty-five  thousand  gallons  of  water; 
the  purchase  of  two  engines,  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  of 
approved  power  and  construction ;  and  also  a  hydraulion,i  with 
the  usual  quantity  of  hose  attached  to  each  form  of  engine,  as 
practised  in  those  cities.  The  last  and  eighth  resolution  declared 
the  expediency  of  adopting  a  new  organization  of  the  fire  de- 

1^  A  small  engine,  with  one  chamber,  used  for  forcing  water  through  hose,  as 
a  supply  to  the  engines. 

14* 


162  MIJOTCIPAL  mSTORY. 

partment,  on  the  principle  of  distinct  and  individual  responsi- 
bility; and  that  a  Committee  of  the  City  Council  should  be 
appointed,  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  and  reporting  the  details 
of  such  an  organization. 

The  City  Council  adopted  all  the  suggestions  of  the  report, 
and  passed  the  several  resolutions  it  recommended,  and  appointed 
the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Blake  and  Welsh,  and  Messrs.  S.  K.  Wil- 
liams, Barry,  Boies,  and  Wales,  a  Committee  on  the  eighth  reso- 
lution, to  aiTange  and  report  the  details  of  a  new  organization 
of  the  fire  department.  This  Committee  reported  on  the  twelfth 
of  May  two  resolutions,  which  were  adopted  at  once  by  the 
City  Council. 

The  first  declared  the  expediency  of  establishing  a  fire  de- 
partment, consisting  of  one  chief  engineer,  and  as  many  engi- 
neers, firewardens,  engine  men,  hose  men,  and  hook  and  ladder 
men,  as  may  be  chosen  and  appointed  by  the  Cit;f  Council. 

The  second  requested  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  to  apply  to 
the  Legislature  for  such  powers  and  authorities,  to  be  vested  in 
the  fu'e  department,  and  also  such  privileges  and  exemptions 
granted  to  its  members,  as  may  be  requisite,  and  in  their  wisdom 
deemed  expedient. 

The  Mayor  and  Aldermen  immediately  took  measures  to  have 
two  engines,  of  approved  capacity  and  power,  to  be  built,  one  in 
Philadelphia,  and  the  other  in  New  York.  Gentlemen  of  skill 
and  intelligence,  in  each  city,  kindly  undertook  the  superintend- 
ence of  their  construction  ;  and  the  mechanics  employed  in  each 
city,  being  apprized  that  their  work  would  be  brought  into  du-ect 
comparison,  under  the  stimulus  of  emulation,  produced  two 
engines,  each  of  which  was  pronounced  by  competent  judges  to 
be  equal  in  power,  capacity,  and  workmanship  to  any  engine  in 
either  city.  Their  style  of  construction,  differing  from  those 
used  in  Boston,  gave  an  opportunity  to  the  mechanics  of  this 
city  to  compare,  and  possibly  to  improve,  the  construction  of 
their  own  engines. 

These  measures  did  not  pass  without  animadversion.  It  was 
inquired,  through  the  press,  "  whether  the  mechanics  of  Boston 
were  inferior  in  skill  to  those  in  Philadelphia  and  New  York  ? 
and  why  the  money  of  the  city  was  expended  in  the  pati'on- 
age  of  the  mechanics  of  other  cities,  rather  than  of  its  own?" 
But  when  direct  inquiries  were  made  of  the  Mayor  by  Boston 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  163 

mechanics  themselves,  concerning  the  principles  and  efTects  of 
this  policy,  the  explanation  given  convinced  them  of  its  advan- 
tages ;  and  also,  that  an  entire  change  in  the  system  of  our  pro- 
tection against  fires  would  cause  expenditures  ultimately  tending 
to  their  benefit. 

Such  were  the  first  steps  taken  towards  the  establishment  of 
a  fire  department,  to  act  independently  of  the  general  aid  of  the 
citizens  of  Boston.  At  this  day,  (1851,)  after  the  experience  of 
the  advantages  of  the  system,  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  to 
realize  the  extreme  antipathy,  and  even  predetermined  hostility, 
to  the  measures,  evinced  by  men  in  other  respects  of  great  judg- 
ment and  sagacity. 

Having  thus  authorized  the  purchase  of  two  engines  and  a 
hydraulion,  and  the  constructing  of  three  reservoirs,  each  to  con- 
tain twenty-five  thousand  gallons  of  water,  the  City  Council  refer- 
red the  subject  of  "  the  organization  of  a  fire  department,  on  the 
principle  of  distinct  and  individual  responsibility,"  to  the  next 
City  Council,  the  period  of  a  reorganization  of  the  city  govern- 
ment being  now  approaching. 

The  inconvenience  of  leaving  city  expenditures  subject  to  the 
control  of  several  boards,  some  of  whom  claimed  an  independ- 
ence of  the  City  Council,  a  practice  Avhich  had  been  borrowed 
from  that  of  the  town  government,  began  to  be  seriously  felt, 
and  a  change  was  demanded  by  the  plainest  dictates  of  expedi- 
ency. The  Mayor,  therefore,  in  January,  1824,  by  a  special  mes- 
sage, recommended  to  the  City  Council  the  consideration  of  "  a 
more  systematic  accountability  for  public  moneys,  and  a  more 
efficient  check  upon  the  expenditures  of  the  city."  A  joint  Com- 
mittee of  the  City  Council  was  accordingly  appointed  on  the 
subject,  who,  in  the  April  following,  made  a  report,  stating  the 
system  of  accountability  then  practised,  representing  its  un- 
satisfactory nature,  and  the  reasons  for  the  change  it  recom- 
mended. Four  boards  were  then  intrusted  with  the  expenditure 
of  public  moneys,  namely,  —  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  the 
Overseers  of  the  Poor,  the  Commissioners  of  Health,  and  the 
Directors  of  the  House  of  Industry.  To  each  of  these  various 
sums  were  advanced,  in  the  form  of  appropriations,  and  ex- 
pended by  votes  of  the  respective  boards,  under  the  agency  of 
committees.  The  members  of  these  committees  made  the  ex- 
penditm-e  or  the  contract,  and  vouched  the  bill  for  the  article 


164  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

delivered  or  the  services  rendered,  including  the  rate  of  compen- 
sation or  the  price.  A  committee  from  the  board,  once  in  each 
month,  examined  the  account  of  expenditures  of  that  month,  re- 
ceived the  vouchers,  and,  where  they  agreed,  passed  the  accounts. 
The  course  of  proceeding  was  very  similar  in  all  the  boards. 
However  well  suited  such  a  course  might  have  been  in  the  early 
stage  of  municipal  institutions,  when  the  numbers  affected  by 
their  authorities  were  small,  and  the  amounts  expended  incon- 
siderable, the  Committee  deemed  that  a  more  systematic  and 
uniform  accountability  ought  to  be  established  to  satisfy  the 
increasing  demands  and  expenditures  of  a  city  rapidly  augment- 
ing in  wealth  and  population. 

It  seemed  to  them  sufficiently  loose  and  unsatisfactory  in 
point  of  efficient  accountability,  that  the  whole  city  expenditures 
should  be  made  by  forty  or  fifty  members  of  four  distinct  boards, 
chosen  annually  for  general  purposes,  with  no  particular  refer- 
ence to  their  adaptation  to  the  particular  class  of  expenditures 
which  they  were  called  upon  to  superintend.  That  these  indi- 
viduals, acting  gratuitously,  without  compensation,  could  not  be 
expected  to  give  more  than  a  certain  general  and  occasional 
oversight  to  the  objects  on  which  expenditures  were  made ;  and 
that,  of  course,  they  must  act  chiefly  by  minor  agents,  which,  as 
they  multiplied,  necessarily  increased  the  chance  of  mistake  and 
imposition. 

The  great  defect  in  this  organization,  with  reference  to  an  effi- 
cient accountability  for  public  moneys  was,  in  the  opinion  of 
the  Committee,  the  fact,  that  the  accountability  for  the  expendi- 
ture of  each  board  was  to  committees  of  its  own;  in  other 
words,  the  power  to  expend  and  the  power  of  calling  to  account 
was  efficiently  the  same ;  an  arrangement,  which,  however  in- 
consequential in  boards  destined  for  the  mere  care  of  property 
and  pecuniary  investment,  must  have  important  consequences 
in  boards  charged  with  the  oversight  of  gi-eat  expenditures,  rela- 
tive to  objects  comprising  numerous  details,  and  requhing  the 
employment  of  many  subordinate  agents. 

The  labors  of  the  committee  of  accounts  were  lessened  by 
dividing  the  members  of  the  board  into  monthly  committees,  of 
a  number  deemed  expedient,  —  usually  two. 

All  the  members  of  the  board  undertook  by  turns  this  labor 
and  responsibility. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  165 

The  consequence  was,  that  there  was  no  such  general  super- 
intendence as  is  implied  and  effected  by  accountability  to  one 
practical  mind,  habituated  to  the  rules  and  routine  of  a  siftgle 
d'Ppartment.  As  there  was  no  distinct,  uniform  rules  for  pro- 
ceeding, committees  were  guided  by  such  principles  as  on  the 
instant  were  deemed  applicable.  Admissions  or  rejections  thus 
unavoidably  often  depended  upon  the  particular  state  or  temper 
of  mind  of  the  members  of  the  committees.  The  circumstances 
of  the  individual  were  often  considered  instead  of  the  case  ;  and 
the  results  were  often  very  different  from  what  they  would  have 
been  had  the  same  accounts  been  subjected  to  the  analysis  of 
other  members  of  the  same  board.  No  stronger  evidence  could 
be  given  of  the  incorrectness  of  these  financial  arrangements, 
than  the  fact  that  persons  having  accounts  to  settle  with  the  city, 
have  been  known  to  inquire  who  the  monthly  committee  of 
accounts  were,  and  to  postpone  presenting  their  accounts  until 
those  they  deemed  most  liltely  not  to  sift  severely  came  to  exer- 
cise the  power. 

The  defects  of  the  system  then  in  practice  having  been  thus 
set  forth,  the  Committee  proceeded  to  state  the  remedy  they 
proposed,  which  consisted  in  the  establishment  of  an  office  of 
"  auditor  of  accounts,^^  and  in  tracing  an  outline  of  the  duties 
and  rules  to  which  that  office  should  be  subjected. 

This  change  was  deemed  too  important  to  be  passed  with- 
out its  being  vu-tually  submitted  to  the  decision  of  the  citizens. 
The  Committee,  therefore,  only  proposed  that  it  should  be 
taken  into  consideration  by  the  then  existing  City  Council,  the 
report  to  be  printed  and  distributed,  recommending  the  whole 
subject  to  the  attention  of  its  successors ;  by  whom  it  was,  in 
August,  1824,  revived,  the  office  of  auditor  established,  and  a 
new  system  of  accountability  connected  with  it.  In  the  same 
month,  William  Hay  den  was  elected  Auditor,  and  by  his  great 
ability  and  efficiency  corrected  the  iiTegularity  incident  to  the 
former  system,  and  introduced  principles  for  checking  the  facility 
with  which  additional  appropriations  were  made,  after  the  annual 
appropriation  bills  had  been  passed  by  the  City  Council. 

In  pursuance  of  the  same  general  policy,  in  February,  1828, 
the  City  Council  adopted  a  system  of  self-restriction,  having 
for  its  object  to  confine  the  ordinary  expenditm-es  of  the  year 
within  the  limits  of  the  ordinary  annual  incomes,  by  passing  an 


166  MUNICIPAL  HISTOKY. 

order  of  the  following  tenor :  —  "  That,  in  the  present  and  every 
future  financial  year,  after  the  annual  order  of  appropriations 
shall  have  been  passed,  no  subsequent  expenditure  shall  be  au- 
thorized for  any  object,  unless  provision  for  the  same  shall  be 
made,  by  expressly  creating  therefor  a  city  debt ;  in  the  latter  of 
which  cases,  the  order  shall  not  be  passed,  unless  two  thirds  of 
the  whole  members  of  each  branch  of  the  City  Council  shall 
vote  in  the  affirmative,  by  vote  taken  by  yeas  and  nays." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

CITY  GOVERNMENT.    1825. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor?- 

The  Citizens  accept  the  Report  of  their  General  Committee  on  the  inexpediency 
of  modifying  the  powers  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  —  Overseers  decline 
taking  Care  of  the  Poor  at  the  House  of  Industry  —  Their  Rights  and  Duties 
submitted  to  Legal  Counsel  —  Their  Report,  and  consequent  Proceedings 
of  the  City  Council  —  Measures  to  introduce  a  Supply  of  Fresh  Water  — 
Proceedings  relative  to  Faneuil  HaU  Market  —  Census  of  the  City  —  Time 
of  Organizing  the  City  Government  changed. 

The  organization  of  the  city  government  was  this  year  trans- 
ferred from  Faneuil  Hall  to  that  of  the  Chamber  of  the  Com- 
mon Council,  and  conducted  with  customary  ceremonies.  The 
Board  of  Aldermen  consisted  entnely  of  new  members ;  all  those 
of  the  preceding  year  having  declined  a  reelection. 

The  Mayor,  in  his  inaugui'al  address,  after  expressing  his  gi'a- 
titude  to  his  fellow-citizens  for  the  unanimity  of  their  suffrages, 
and  paid  a  weU-deserved  tribute  to  the  members  of  the  Board  of, 
Aldermen  of  the  two  preceding  years,  for  their  faithful  and  labo- 
rious services,^  directed  the  attention  of  the  City  Council  and 
his  fellow-citizens  to  the  critical  question  then  pending  between 
the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  and  the  City  Government.  After  stat- 
ing, in  unequivocal  terms,  the  incompatibility  with  the  public  inte- 
rest of  the  existence,  under  a  city  organization,  of  an  independent 
Board  claiming  the  right  of  expending  public  money  without  re- 
sponsibility to  the  city  authorities,  he  explained  the  effect  upon 
the  cliaracter  and  confidence  in  the  members  of  that  Board,  una- 
voidably resulting  from  the  difference  in  selecting  them,  as  now 
practised  under  the  city  charter,  and  as  was  formerly  mider  the 


1  The  whole  number  of  votes  cast  was  1891,  of  which  the  Mayor  had  1836. 
The  members  of  this  Board  of  Aldermen  were  George  Blake,  John  Bellows, 

John  Biyant,  Daniel  Carney,  John  D.  Dyer,  Josiah  Marshall,  Henry  J.  OHver, 
and  Thomas  Welsh,  Jr. 

2  See  Appendix,  D. 


9 


168  MUNICIPAL  mSTORT. 

town  government.  This  development  he  regarded  it  his  duty  to 
make,  notwithstanding  that  the  report  of  the  Committee,^  ap- 
pointed by  a  general  meeting  of  the  citizens,  in  opposition  to 
those  views,  was  about  to  be  taken  into  consideration  by  another 
general  meeting  of  the  citizens,  to  be  held  on  the  nineteenth  of 
May,  then  instant ;  and  no  doubt  could  be  entertained  that  the 
recommendations  of  that  report  would  be  adopted,  so  conforma- 
ble were  they  to  popular  habits  and  prejudices.  The  City  Coun- 
cil, however,  took  no  measm-es  strenuously  to  oppose  the  accept- 
ance of  that  report.  They  had  effected  the  removal  of  the  poor 
to  the  House  of  Industry,  and  of  consequence  felt  less  interest 
in  the  immediate  result.  They  had  conscientiously  fulfilled  their 
duty  to  the  city,  by  faithfully  explaining  to  their  fellow-citizens 
the  nature  and  consequences  of  the  relations  and  claims  of  that 
Board  in  respect  of  the  interest  of  the  city.  Whatever  ills  or 
difficulties  might  hereafter  result,  could  not  be  attributed  to  any 
want  of  firmness  or  foresight  in  them.  The  citizens  were  left, 
therefore,  to  the  unbiased  exercise  of  their  own  feelings  and  judg- 
ment, and  the  report  of  their  General  Committee  was  adopted 
without  important  opposition. 

In  May,  1825,  immediately  after  the  organization  of  the  city 
government,  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  addressed  a  communica- 
tion to  the  City  Council,  asldng  for  a  suitable  house  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  poor,  and  expressing  their  readiness  to 
take  upon  themselves  the  oversight,  care,  and  government  of  it. 
A  Committee  of  the  City  Council,  consisting  of  the  Mayor,  and 
Messrs.  Williams,  Thaxter,  and  Elliot,  of  the  Common  Coun- 
cil, was  immediately  appointed,  to  whom  this  application  was 
referred,  and  who  reported  on  the  twelfth  of  May,  that  a  house, 
such  as  the  Overseers  applied  for,  had  already  been  provided  by 
the  city ;  that  it  was  placed  under  the  care  of  the  Directors  of 
the  House  of  Industry,  who  were  invested  by  law,  in  respect  of 
the  inmates  of  that  house,  with  all  the  powers  exercised  by  the 
Overseers  of  the  Poor;  that  they  were  wisely  and  efficiently 
active  in  their  oversight  of  it,  to  the  content  of  the  poor ;  and 
that  then-  superintendence  of  the  moral  and  physical  condition 
of  the  inmates  was  highly  satisfactory.  The  report  expressed 
the  gratification  the  Committee  derived  from  the  hope  of  being 

1  See  cL  x.  p.  146. 


I 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  169 

able  to  avail  themselves  of  the  general  aid  of  the  Overseers ;  and 
the  readiness  of  the  City  Council  to  grant  all  those  practical  and 
useful  facilities  relative  to  providing  for  the  poor,  which,  from  the 
tenor  of  their  application,  the  Overseers  appeared  to  desire ;  and, 
in  order  that  the  poor  of  the  city  might  enjoy  the  benefit  and 
experience  of  both  those  Boards,  the  Committee  presented  their 
views  in  the  form  of  three  resolutions,  which  the  City  Council 
unanimously  adopted. 

By  the  first,  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  were  authorized  and 
requested  to  grant  permits  for  admission  into  the  House  of  In- 
dustry of  any  person,  in  theu*  judgment,  entitled  to  the  support 
of  the  city  in  that  house,  for  which  purpose  its  Directors  were 
enjoined  to  provide  relief  and  support. 

By  the  second,  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  were  authorized  and 
requested,  at  their  discretion,  with  or  without  notice,  to  visit  the 
House  of  Industry,  to  inquire  into  its  condition  and  the  treat- 
ment and  employment  of  the  poor,  and  make  such  represent- 
ations on  those  subjects  as  their  wisdom  and  experience  might 
suggest.  r 

By  the  third,  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  wire  authorized  to 
provide  a  suitable  vehicle,  for  conveyance  to  ■qlie  House  of  In- 
dustry of  such  decrepid  persons  as  were  incapacitated  from  going 
of  themselves,  and  place  the  same  at  the  disposal  of  both  the 
superintending  Boards. 

As  soon  as  these  resolutions  were  received  by  the  Oversedrs 
of  the  Poor,  they  addressed,  on  the  twenty-third  of  May,  1825, 
a  memorial  in  writing  to  the  City  Council,  stating  that  "  they  did 
not  feel  justified  in  relinquishing  to  the  Dkectors  of  the  House 
of  Industry  any  of  the  tasks  assigned  them  by  law;"  and  that 
"  they  would  not  consent  to  grant  the  permits  contemplated  by 
the  above  resolves ; "  and  gave  notice  to  the  City  Council  that, 
"  unless  a  house  is  provided,  to  which  the  Overseers  can  remove 
paupers,  the  city  will  be  exposed  to  gi-eat  expense." 

This  memorial  was  referred  to  a  Committee  of  the  City 
Council,  consisting  of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Carney,  Welsh, 
and  Oliver,  with  Messrs.  Savage,  Williams,  Thaxter,  Elliot, 
Adan,  Tracy,  and  Ware,  of  the  Common  Council;  who,  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  June,  reported,  that  the  tenor  of  the  above 
memorial  indicated  so  gi'eat  a  misapprehension  in  the  Board  of 
Overseers,  concerning  then*  rights  and  duties,  as,  if  acquiesced 
15 


170  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

in,  would  result  in  consequences  at  once  serious  and  embarrass- 
ing ;  and  to  put  those  rights  and  duties,  as  far  as  possible,  be- 
yond all  doubt  and  question,  they  had  requested  the  Mayor  to 
lay  the  whole  subject  before  counsel  learned  in  the  law,  and  for 
this  purpose  had  selected  William  Prescott,  Charles  Jackson, 
and  Daniel  Webster,  gentlemen  possessing  the  greatest  profes- 
sional reputation,  and  whose  opinion  would,  it  was  hoped,  be 
conclusive  with  the  Board  of  Overseers,  and  certainly  with  the 
public. 

The  Mayor,  accordingly,  on  the  fourth  of  June,  1825,  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  those  three  jurists,  and,  after  stating  that  an 
unhappy  controversy  had  arisen,  between  the  Overseers  of  the 
Poor  and  the  City  Council,  in  relation  to  their  respective  powers 
and  duties,  that  a  Committee  of  this  body,  to  whom  was 
referred  the  memorial  of  the  Overseers,  dated  the  twenty -tliird 
of  the  preceding  May,  had  directed  him  to  submit,  for  their 
inspection  and  consideration,  certain  laws  and  documents,  and 
subjoin  certain  inqunies,  for  their  official  answer,  as  counsel 
learned  in  the  law.     The  acts  submitted  were :  — 

1st.  The  act  for  employing  and  providing  for  the  poor  of  the 
town  of  Boston,  passed  in  the  year  1735,  and  ratified  and  con- 
firmed in  January,  1789. 

2d.  An  act  relative  to  the  relief,  support,  employment,  and 
removal  of  the  poor,  passed  the  twenty-sixth  February,  1796. 

3d.  An  act  concerning  the  House  of  Industry,  passed  the  third 
Febmary,  1823. 

4th.  An  act  concerning  the  regulations  of  the  House  of  Cor- 
rection in  the  city  of  Boston,  and  passed  twelfth  June,  1826. 

5th.  An  act  establishing  the  City  of  Boston,  passed  the 
twenty -third  February,  1822,  called  the  City  Charter. 

The  documents  submitted  were,  — 

1.  The  Vote  of  the  City  Council,  passed  twenty-ninth  Sep- 
tember, 1823.1 

2.  The  Memorial  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  to  the  City 
Council,  without  date,  but  which  was  committed  in  this  body 
on  the  fifth  of  May  last. 

3.  The  Eeport  of  the  Committee  of  the  City  Council  on  the 
preceding  Memorial  and  the  three  Hesolves  subjoined,  adopted 
and  passed  on  the  twelfth  of  May  2  last. 

1  See  ch.  vii.  pp.  95,  96.  2  gee  p.  168. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT,  171 

4.  The  Memorial  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  to  the  City 
Council,  dated  the  twenty-third  of  May  last.^ 

The  inquiries  submitted  for  their  official  answer  were,  — 

1.  Is  not  the  erecting,  providing,  and  endowing  the  house  for 
the  reception  and  employment  of  the  idle  and  poor  of  the  city, 
called  the  House  of  Industry,  and  the  appointment  of  directors 
thereof,  according  to  the  act  entitled,  "An  act  concerning  the 
House  of  Industry,"  a  sufficient  and  legal  exercise  of  the  author- 
ity invested  in  the  City  Council,  under  the  acts  of  1735,  of 
1794,  and  of  1822  ? 

2.  Does  not  the  authority  given  to  the  Directors  of  the  House 
of  Industry  to  use,  regulate,  and  govern  said  house,  supersede, 
with  respect  to  all  persons  sent  to  it,  any  authority  in  relation 
to  them,  given  by  the  acts  of  1735  and  1794  to  the  Overseers 
of  the  Poor,  except  so  far  as  the  City  Council  may  authorize  ? 

3.  Have  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  any  right  to  appoint  a 
master  of  said  house,  or  to  have  the  government  thereof,  or  to 
ordain  any  rules  or  regulations  concerning  it  ? 

4.  Does  the  saving  of  the  act  of  tenth  January,  1789,  in  the 
act  of  1794,  and  the  continuance  in  force  thereby  of  the  act  of 
1735,  preclude  the  city  of  Boston  from  any  of  the  general  privi- 
leges of  the  act  of  1794,  which  are  granted  by  it  to  the  other 
towns  of  the  Commonwealth ;  or  deprive  the  City  Council, 
under  the  transfer  of  powers  made  by  the  city  charter,  from 
"directing  the  way  and  manner"  in  which  poor  and  indigent 
persons  shall  be  supported  and  relieved,  according  to  the  right 
secured  to  other  towns  in  the  Commonwealth  by  the  act  of 
1794? 

5.  Is  not  the  "  dkection "  given  by  the  City  Council,  as  to 
"  the  way  and  manner "  in  which  the  poor  and  indigent  shall 
be  relieved  and  supported,  conclusive  and  obligatory  upon  the 
Overseers  of  the  Poor,  under  and  by  virtue  of  the  act  of  1794  ? 

6:  Is  not  the  "direction"  given  in  the  vote  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil, dated  the  twenty-ninth  September,  1823,^  full  and  sufficient 
in  that  respect;  and  have  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  a  right  to 
refuse  to  exercise  that  general  visitatorial  power  which  that  vote 
provides  for  and  authorizes  ? 

7.  After  notice  given  of  the  passing  of  the  fu'st  resolve,  on  the 

1  See  p.  169.  2  See  cL  vii.  pp.  95,  96. 


172  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

twelfth  of  May  last,^  have  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  a  right  to 
refuse  to  grant  permits  for  admission  of  the  poor  and  indigent, 
standing  in  need  of  relief,  to  the  House  of  Industry,  who  are  in 
other  towns  of  this  Commonwealth,  but  belong  to  Boston,  and 
to  support  such  persons  in  other  places  in  said  city,  or  in  such 
other  towns  ? 

8.  Have  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  in  said  city  a  right  to  refuse 
to  give  permits  for  admission  to  the  House  of  Industry  of  the 
poor  and  indigent  of  said  city,  standing  in  need  of  relief,  and  to 
support  them  in  other  places  in  said  city  ? 

9.  Is  there  any  power  and  authority  in  and  over  the  House  of 
Industry  which  the  City  Council  can  vest  in  the  Overseers  of 
the  Poor,  consistent  with  the  powers  and  authorities  vested  by 
the  act  of  thhd  February,  1823,  in  the  Directors  of  the  House  of 
Industry,  other  and  greater  than  those  invested  and  specified  in 
the  vote  of  the  City  Council,  passed  September  29,  1823,^  and 
the  second  resolve  of  that  body,  passed  the  twelfth  of  May 
last?  3 

On  these  laws,  submitted  documents,  and  inquiries,  those 
jurists  made  the  following  statement  of  then-  opinions :  — 

"  In  making  up  our  opinion  on  tlie  question  now  pending  between  the  City- 
Council  and  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  respecting  the  powers  and  duties  of  the 
latter,  we  have  considered  first,  the  general  provisions  of  the  law  on  this  sub- 
ject ;  and  secondly,  the  statutes  which  apply  exclusively  to  the  city  of  Boston. 

"By  the  statute  1793,  c.  59,  towns  may  choose  any  number,  not  exceeding 
twelve,  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  who  shall  have  the  care  and  oversight  of  the 
poor,  and  see  that  they  are  suitably  relieved,  supported,  and  employed,  either  in 
the  work-house  or  other  tenements  belonging  to  the  town,  or  in  such  other  way 
and  manner  as  they  (the  town)  shall  direct,  or  otherwise  at  the  discretion  of  the 
Overseers. 

"By  the  city  charter  (stat.  1821,  c.  110,)  the  City  Council  now  has  all  the 
power,  in  this  respect,  that  was  formerly  vested  in  the  town.  If  there  were  no 
other  statute  on  this  subject,  it  is  evident  that  the  City  Council  would  be 
authorized  to  provide  a  house  for  their  poor,  and  prescribe  the  manner  in  which 
they  should  be  supported  and  employed  in  it ;  or  to  cause  them  to  be  relieved 
at  their  own  houses,  or  in  other  private  houses,  or,  in  short,  in  any  manner 
which,  in  the  discretion  of  the  City  Council,  should  appear  best ;  and  it  would 
be  the  duty  of  the  Overseers  to  comply  with  such  directions. 

"By  the  provincial  statute,  8  and  9  Geo.  II.,  c.  3,  (passed  in  May,  1735,)  the 
town  of  Boston  was  authorized  to  erect  a  house  for  the  reception  and  employ- 

1  See  p.  168.  2  Seech,  vii.  pp.  95,  90. 

3  See  p.  168. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  173 

ment  of  the  idle  and  poor,  and  to  discontinue  the  same  if  they  should  think 
proper;  the  house  to  be  under  the  regulation  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor, 
who  had  power  to  make  orders  and  by-laws  for  its  government,  subject  to  the 
control  of  the  town,  and  to  appoint  the  master  and  other  officers  of  the  house. 
If  there  were  no  other  laws  but  those  above  mentioned,  the  City  Council  might, 
in  their  discretion,  discontinue  their  almshouse,  and  require  that  their  poor  should 
be  reUeved  and  supported  in  some  other  place  or  other  manner ;  but  as  long  as 
the  city  had  a  house  for  the  poor,  in  pursuance  of  that  statute  of  1735,  the 
Overseers  would  have  had  the  regulation  and  government  of  it.  This  last- 
mentioned  statute  furnishes  the  only  foundation  for  the  claims  of  the  Overseers ; 
and,  although  there  might  possibly  be  a  question  whether  it  has  not  been  virtu- 
ally repealed,  (at  least,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  government  of  the  Alms- 
house,) yet  we  have  thought  it  more  safe  and  expedient  to  proceed  on  the  sup- 
position that  it  remains  in  force,  excepting  so  far  as  it  has  been  clearly  altered 
by  subsequent  statutes.  In  the  year  1823,  the  city  had  erected  what  they  called 
a  House  of  Industry.  If  this  is  to  be  considered  as  the  "  house  for  the  reception 
and  emjiloyment  of  the  idle  and  jioor,"  pursuant  to  the  statute  of  173.5,  the 
Overseers  would  have  had  the  government  of  it,  if  no  other  provision  had  been 
made.  But  by  the  statute  of  the  third  February,  1822,  1823,  c.  56,  the  Legis- 
lature gave  the  government  of  this  House  of  Industry  to  nine  directors,  to  be 
chosen  by  the  City  Council.  If,  therefore,  this  is  the  Almshouse,  the  govern- 
ment of  it  is  taken  from  the  Overseers  and  vested  in  the  nine  Directors,  and 
the  statute  of  1735  is  so  far  repealed.  The  City  Council  could  not,  as  we  con- 
ceive, give  to  the  Overseers  any  control  over  this  house,  inconsistent  with  the 
authority  vested  by  law  in  the  Directors.  On  the  other  hand,  if  this  House  of 
Industry  is  a  distinct  establishment,  and  not  such  a  poor-Jiouse,  as  is  contem- 
plated in  the  statute  of  1735,  it  is  clear  that  the  Overseers  have  nothing  to  do 
with  it.  It  is  equally  clear  that,  whether  the  house  is  of  one  or  the  other  de- 
scription, the  City  Council  has  authority,  according  to  the  statute  1793,  c.  59,  to 
require  that  the  poor  should  be  relieved,  supported,  and  employed  in  that  house. 
It  may  be  proper  here  to  remark  that,  although  the  law  appears  to  give  an  un- 
limited power  to  towns,  to  cause  their  poor  to  be  relieved  in  any  manner  what- 
ever, yet  there  seems  to  be  some  limitation,  arising  necessarily  out  of  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances and  from  other  parts  of  the  law.  K,  for  example,  a  poor  person  should 
break  a  limb,  or  be  so  ill  that  he  could  not  be  moved  without  endangering  his 
life,  the  Overseers  would  be  bound  to  relieve  him  Immediately,  without  carry- 
ing him  to  the  poor-house,  or  before  he  could  be  sent  there,  notwithstanding  the 
town  should  have  prescribed  that  as  the  place  for  maintaining  the  poor.  There 
is  another  kind  of  exception  which,  though  not  required  by  law,  seems  to  be 
called  for  by  humanity  and  benevolence,  as  weU  as  by  a  regard  to  economy, 
and  that  is,  of  those  householders  and  others,  who  requii-e  only  partial  relief, 
and  who  may  be  rendered  more  comfortable  by  a  small  supply  of  necessaries  at 
their  own  homes,  than  by  being  wholly  supported  in  a  poor-house.  And  the 
undersigned  would  suggest  to  the  City  Council,  the  expediency  of  passing  an 
order  for  the  relief  and  emjjloyment  of  the  poor  in  the  House  of  Industry,  and 
of  excepting  from  its  operation  the  two  classes  of  persons  above-mentioned. 

"As  to  all  those  persons  who  may  be  la'U'fully  relieved  without  being  sent  to  the 
House  of  Industi-v,  the  care  of  them  remains  entii-ely  with  the  Overseei-s ;  but  as 
15* 


174  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

to  all  who  ought  by  law  and  the  oixlers  of  the  City  Council  to  be  relieved  and 
supported  in  that  place,  the  Directors  have  the  same  powers  that  the  Overseers 
have  to  send  them  there,  and  have  the  sole  power  of  governing  them  after  they 
are  admitted. 

"  If  the  City  Council  has  a  right  to  require  that  all  the  poor,  excepting  the 
two  classes  above-mentioned,  shall  be  supported  in  the  House  of  Industry,  it 
necessarily  follows  that  the  Overseers  are  bound  to  send  all  such  poor  there  for 
relief;  and  if  they  should  decline  to  do  so,  the  remedy  would  be  substantially 
the  same  as  in  any  other  town  in  the  Commonwealth  where  the  Overseers  should 
refuse  to  provide  for  the  poor  according  to  law  and  to  the  directions  of  the  town. 

"  These  general  views  of  the  subject  exhibit  the  opinions  that  we  have  formed 
on  most  of  the  points  in  conti'oversy  ;  but  we  proceed  briefly  to  give- a  specific 
answer  to  each  of  the  questions  contained  in  the  annexed  papers. 

"  To  the  first,  we  answer,  that,  in  our  opinion,  the  erecting  and  providing  for 
the  House  of  Industry,  Is  a  vaUd  and  legal  exercise  of  authority  by  the  City 
Council ;  and  we  also  think  that  it  may  be  considered  such  a  poor-house  as  is 
contemplated  by  the  statute  of  1 735  ;  though,  for  the  reasons  above-mentioned, 
we  have  not  thought  it  material  to  settle  the  last  question.  We  have  no  doubt 
that  it  is  a  house  in  which  the  City  Council  may  lawfully  ordgr  the  poor  to  be 
relieved  and  employed;  and  that  the  poor  when  there,  must  be  relieved  and 
employed  by  the  Directors,  and  under  their  authority. 

"  To  the  second,  we  answer  in  the  afiirmative.  It  is  Impossible  that  two  dis- 
tinct and  independent  bodies  should  each  have  the  whole  of  the  authority  in 
question,  and  the  statute  1822,  c.  56,  has  given  the  authority  to  the  Directors. 

"  To  the  third ;  in  our  opinion,  the  Overseers  have  no  siTch  right  or  authority. 

"  To  the  fourth ;  we  see  nothing  in  any  of  the  statutes  refen-ed  to,  which  could 
prevent  the  town,  before  the  charter,  or  the  City  Council  now,  from  "  directing 
the  way  and  manner"  in  which  the  poor  should  be  relieved,  supported,  and 
employed,  as  any  other  town  in  the  Commonwealth  might  do,  excepting  only 
that  before  the  statute  of  1822,  c.  56,  if  the  city  had  seen  fit  to  build  and  main- 
tain a  poor-house  in  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  the  statute  of  1735,  the  Over- 
seers would  have  had  the  direction  of  the  house. 

"  To  the  fifth ;  the  City  Council  has,  in  our  opinion,  the  same  authority  in  this 
respect  that  the  town  formerly  possessed,  and  their  votes  pursuant  to  that  author- 
ity are  conclusive  and  obligatory  on  the  Overseers. 

"  To  the  sixth ;  we  see  no  necessity  for  the  Overseers  to  exercise  any  authority 
over  the  poor  in  the  House  of  Industry ;  and  the  City  Council  cannot,  as  we 
apprehend,  give  to  the'  Overseers  any  authority  inconsistent  with  that  which  is 
vested  in  the  Directors  by  the  statute  of  1822,  c.  56.  Of  course,  we  are  of  opi- 
nion that  the  Overseers  cannot  exercise  any  greater  authority  than  that  speci- 
fied in  the  vote  of  September  29,  1823.  Tliis  vote,  however,  does  not  appear  to 
be  a  full  exercise  of  the  authority  of  the  City  Council,  and  we  would  suggest  the 
expediency  of  their  passing  a  formal  order  (if  there  is  not  such  a  one  in  force) 
requiring  that  all  the  poor,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  classes  above-mentioned, 
shall  be  reHeved,  supported,  and  employed  in  the  House  of  Industry. 

"  To  the  seventh ;  if  the  City  CouncU  have  passed,  or  should  see  fit  to  pass,  an 
order  of  the  kind  suggested  in  our  preceding  answer,  the  Overseers  could  not 
lawfully  maintain  the  poor,  who  come  within  the  terms  of  the  order,  at  the 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  175 

expense  of  tlic  city,  at  any  other  place  than  the  House  of  Industry.  Tiie 
Directors  of  that  House  have  the  same  power  as  the  Overseers  to  send  there  any 
of  the  poor  persons  referred  to  in  this  question. 

"  The  eighth  is  ansAvcrcd  in  the  preceding  answer. 

"  To  the  ninth ;  we  are  not  aware  of  any  further  measures  that  can  or  ought  to 
be  taken  by  the  City  Council  in  this  respect. 

(Signed)    William  Prescott, 
Charles  Jackson, 
Daniel  Webster." 
"Boston,  June  21,  1825. 

The  opinions  of  these  jurists  on  the  several  laws,  documents, 
and  questions  submitted  to  them,  were  received  and  communi- 
cated to  the  City  Council  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  June,  1825, 
and,  in  conformity  therewith,  the  Committee  reported  the  three 
following  resolves,  which  were  immediately  passed  by  the  City 
Council ;  and,  by  their  order,  an  attested  copy  of  the  report  and 
resolves  was  transmitted  to  each  member  of  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers of  the  Poor. 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  be,  and  hereby 
are  directed  to  cause  all  persons,  who,  from  the  nature  of  the  ill- 
ness under  which  they  labor,  or  of  the  accident  which  has 
befallen  them,  are  incapable  without  endangering  life  to  be 
removed  from  the  place  where  they  are,  to  be  relieved  and  sup- 
ported in  such  place  until  they  are  capable  of  being  removed, 
and  as  soon  as  they  are  capable  of  being  removed,  the  said 
Overseers  are  directed  to  cause  them  forthwith  to  be  removed 
for  further  relief  and  support  to  the  House  of  Industry. 

2.  Resolved,  That  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  be,  and  they 
hereby  are  directed,  as  it  respects  those  householders  and  others, 
who,  in  their  opinion,  requh'e  partial  relief,  and  who  may  be  ren- 
dered more  comfortable  by  a  small  supply  at  then-  own  houses 
than  by  being  wholly  supported  in  a  poor-house,  to  grant  such 
partial  rehef  and  small  supply  of  necessaries  at  their  own 
houses. 

3.  Resolved,  That  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  be,  and  they 
hereby  are  directed  to  see  that  all  poor  and  indigent  persons, 
having  lawful  settlement  in  the  city  of  Boston,  and  standing  in 
need  of  rehef,  other  than  those  belonging  to  the  classes  specified 
in  the  two  preceding  resolves,  be  suitably  relieved,  supported,  and 
employed  in  the  House  of  Lidustry,  according  to  the  regulations 
and  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Directors  of  said  House. 


176  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  May,  1825,  a  committee  was  appointed 
in  both  branches  of  the  City  Council,  to  inquire  into  "  the  practi- 
cability, expense,  and  expediency  of  supplying  the  city  with 
good,  wholesome,  and  soft  water."  On  the  thirteenth  of  June  the 
Committee  reported  that  there  was  no  doubt  of  its  practicability 
or  expediency,  and  that  the  only  questions  were,  concerning  the 
expense  and  the  mode  by  which  it  could  be  effected ;  but  that 
a  great  diversity  of  opinion  existed,  whether  it  ought  to  be  left 
to  private  associations  •  of  capitalists,  or  be  done  wholly  at  the 
expense  of  the  city ;  they  recommended  a  survey  of  the  most 
suitable  places  in  the  vicinity  from  which  a  sufficient  supply 
might  be  obtained.  This  was  authorized,  and  an  appropriation 
made  of  one  thousand  doUars  for  the  object. 

So  little  were  the  future  wants  of  the  city  anticipated,  that  the 
Mayor  received  from  a  citizen  of  Boston,  perhaps  second  to  none 
of  his  time  for  talents,  judgment,  and  affection  forlhe  city,  a  let- 
ter dated  June  25, 1825,  recommending  Stony  Brook,  in  Roxbury, 
"  as  the  source  of  supply,  and  stating,  from  his  own  observation, 
that,  during  forty  years,  it  had  never  failed  to  supply  water  suffi- 
cient for  the  purposes  of  the  city."  Indeed,  there  was  no  general 
deficiency  of  a  supply  of  water  felt  at  that  time,  except  at  fires. 
On  the  fourteenth  of  November,  Daniel  Treadwell,  an  experi- 
enced engineer,  was,  however,  employed  by  the  city  to  make 
a  survey  of  places  best  adapted  to  afford  such  a  supply;  and, 
on  the  twenty-third  of  the  same  month,  the  Mayor  received  a 
letter  from  John  C.  Warren,  then,  as  now,  one  of  the  most  emi- 
nent physicians  in  the  city,  which,  after  stating  "that  the  in- 
troduction of  an  ample  supply  of  pure  water  would  contiibute 
much  to  the  health  of  the  city,  and  prove  one  of  the  gi-eatest 
blessings  which  could  be  bestowed  upon  it,"  concluded  with  a 
caution  against  "  any  project  involving  much  expense,  as  being 
objectionable,  and  might  tend  to  delay  the  execution  of  a  more 
perfect  plan,  and  protract  the  existence  of  an  evil  most  important 
to  be  removed."  Spot  Pond,  in  Stoneham,  and  Charles  River, 
were  the  two  sources  of  supply  to  which  Mr.  Treadwell' s  survey 
related  ;  and  the  expense  to  the  city  from  either  source  was  cal- 
culated not  to  exceed  six  or  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  public  mind  was  not,  however,  prepared  to  incur  even  this 
expense  for  the  object;  and  Mr.  Treadwell's  report  was  imme- 
diately referred  to  the  next  City  Council.     And  in  December,  a 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  177 

joint  committee  of  both  branches  were  appointed  to  ascertain  on 
what  terms  the  som'ccs  of  supply,  suggested  by  Mr.  Trcadwell, 
could  be  obtained. 

While  these  measures  were  in  progi'css,  the  Mayor  entered  into 
a  correspondence  with  William  T.  Lewis  of  Philadelphia,  whose 
superintendence  of  the  waterworks  of  that  city,  and  instrument- 
ality in  constructing  them,  had  highly  qualified  him  to  give 
information  on  the  subject.  With  great  readiness,  Mr.  Lewis 
gave  his  opinion  upon  aU  the  topics  on  which  the  Mayor  liad 
inquired,  and  particularly  on  that  which  he  regarded  as  the  most 
important  of  all  others,  as  to  the  expediency  of  effecting  the 
object  wholly  at  the  expense  of  the  city,  or  by  the  aid  of  asso- 
ciated capitalists.  "  On  this  subject,"  he  replied,  "  cost  is  not 
to  be  regarded;  in  London,  scarcely  a  fire  of  any  magnitude 
happens,  without  complaints  of  the  deficiency  of  water ;  and 
I  have  now  a  paper  in  my  possession,  stating  a  meeting  of 
the  Common  Council  of  the  city,  inquuing  into  its  cause.  This 
it  does  not  require  much  consideration  to  answer.  It  is  from 
the  fatal  error  of  suffering  interested  individuals  to  have  the 
supply  of  an  article  of  the  most  indispensable  nature,  and,  with- 
out which,  health  and  comfort  cannot  be  enjoyed.  Expense 
is  comparatively  no  object.  If  a  company  supply  your  city, 
they  will  expect  to  profit  by  it,  and  this  profit  may  as  well  be 
saved  to  yom-  corporation.  If  it  be  a  losing  business,  indivi- 
duals should  not  suffer  by  forwarding  a  great  public  object ;  and 
if  they  do,  the  citizens  will  be  sure  to  feel  it  by  a  pinched  and 
partial  supply.  In  Philadelphia,  we  have  expended  vast  sums 
of  money,  yet  I  firmly  believe  that  were  the  question  submitted 
to  the  citizens,  to  sell  to  a  company  the  whole  cost,  with  inte- 
rest, that  not  one  tenth  part  of  the  population  would  agree  to  it. 
The  increased  secmity  from  fire,  the  abundant  supply  for  wash- 
ing the  streets,  the  copious  streams  afforded  for  baths  for  cleanli- 
ness, and,  in  short,  many  other  advantages,  are  such,  and  so  well 
appreciated,  that  no  money  would  tempt  them  to  make  sale  of 
the  works."  These  views  were  deemed  by  the  Mayor  conclu- 
sive on  this  pomt ;  and  a  very  powerful  association  being,  at 
that  time,  forming,  to  introduce  water  into  the  city,  he  came  to 
the  resolution  to  throw  his  whole  official  influence  against  it. 

During  this  year  the  building  of  Faneuil  HaU  Market  was 
pursued  with  great  vigor.     On  the  second  of  May,  a  committee 


178  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

of  both  branches  1  was  raised  on  the  subject,  who  appointed  a 
sub-committee  2  for  its  superintendence,  and  David  W.  Child, 
the  active  superintendent  of  the  work.  None  but  ordinary  super- 
visory attentions  were  required  ;  and  the  year  closed  with  reports 
to  the  City  Council,  concerning  the  expenditures  of  the  year, 
and  the  outstanding  claims  of  proprietors  of  the  land. 

In  October,  1825,  a  resolve  passed  the  City  Council,  vesting 
the  JNIayor  with  authority  to  take  a  census  of  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  city.  In  order  to  give  perfect  satisfaction  to  the 
citizens,  the  Mayor,  after  consulting  the  Board  of  Aldermen, 
selected  two  individuals  for  each  ward  of  the  city,  and  for  that 
part  of  ward  No.  12,  called  South  Boston,  two  additional  per- 
sons, aU  well  qualified  for  the  task ;  and  after  a  thorough 
research,  it  resulted  that  the  population  of  the  city  in  the  year 
1825,  wdiQ  fifty-eight  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-one ;  mak- 
ing an  increase  in  the  five  years  succeeding  the  last  census  in 
1820,  oi  fourteen  thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty-one. 

In  January,  1825,  a  request,  signed  by  sixty  citizens,  was  made 
in  writing  to  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  for  a  call  of  a  meeting 
of  the  citizens  in  wards,  to  apply  to  the  Legislature  for  such  an 
alteration  in  the  city  charter,  that  the  Board  of  Aldermen  shall 
consist  of  twelve  members,  one  of  whom  should  be  chosen  in 
each  of  the  wards,  the  vote  on  the  question  to  be  taken  by  ballot. 
This  application  was  soon  followed  by  a  remonstrance  of  other 
citizens,  denying  the  authority  of  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  to 
call  ward  meetings  for  such  a  purpose.  The  subject  was  refen'ed 
to  a  committee,  of  wliich  the  Mayor  was  chairman ;  and  a 
report,'5  stating  their  views  of  the  authority  vested  in  the  Mayor 

1  The  Committee  were,  —  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Blake,  Marshall,  and  Bry- 
ant; and  of  the  Common  Conncil,  Oliver,  (its  President)  Coolidge,  Curtis,  Wil- 
liams, Hastings,  Adan,  and  Boies. 

2  The  Sub-Committee  were,  —  the  Mayor,  Marshall,  Bryant,  Williams,  and 
Boies. 

3  The  following  is  a  condensed  statement  of  tliis  report :  — 

That  antecedent  to  the  amendments  of  the  constitution  of  the  Commonwealth 
in  1820,  the  power  to  callpubUc  meetings  of  the  inhabitants  in  wards  was  never 
exercised  or  attempted  to  be,  other  than  for  the  choice  of  officers ;  and  that  the 
power  of  constituting  a  city  and  organizing  its  government  by  ward  elections 
was  first  obtained  under  the  second  article  of  the  amendments  to  that  constitu- 
tion ;  and  that  by  the  terms  of  that  amendment  that  power  is  vested  in  the  Gene- 
ral Court,  with  the  power  of  prescribing  the  manner  of  calling  and  holding  pub- 
lic meetings  of  the  inhabitants  in  Avards'or  otherwise  ;  so  that  the  powers  of  the 
city  authorities  to  call  meetings  of  the  inhabitants  in  wards,  depends  solely  on  the 
grant  of  the  legislature,  and  do  not  extend  beyond  the  terms  of  that  grant. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  179 

arid  Aldermen,  was  made,  accepted,  and  a  resolve  passed  in  both 
branches  of  the  City  Council,  that,  in  their  opinion,  "the  Mayor 
and  Aldermen  are  not  authorized  by  the  city  charter  to  call 
meetings  of  the  citizens  in  wards,  on  the  application  of  any 
meeting  of  citizens  whatsoever,  for  any  purpose,  except  those 
expressly  provided  for  in  said  charter." 

In  May,  1825,  a  petition,  signed  by  more  than  sixty  persons, 
was  presented  to  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  requesting  that  a 
general  meeting  of  the  citizens  should  be  called,  to  give  their 
ballots  by  yea  and  nay,  on  the  following  proposition,  namely,  — 
"  Shall  ten  hours  faithful  labor  be  considered  hereafter  as  a  day's 
work  for  journeymen  mechanics  in  this  city."  Which,  being 
read  and  considered,  it  was  resolved  to  be  inexpedient  to  pass 
the  same,  "  the  Board  deeming  the  subject  not  within  the  provi- 
sions of  the  city  charter." 

The  city  charter  had  made  no  provision  for  filling  any  vacancy 
which  might  occm'  by  death  or  resignation  in  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men. This  defect  was  remedied  in  June,  1824,  by  a  special  act 
of  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts. 

The  inconvenience  of  organizing  the  city  government  so  late 
in  the  season  as  the  month  of  May,  had  been  generally  felt  by 
the  members  of  the  City  Council.  And  in  November,  1824,  a 
committee,  of  which  the  Mayor  was  chairman,  made  a  report  on 
the  expediency  of  applying  to  the  Legislature  for  an  alteration 
in  the  city  charter,  so  as  to  enable  the  citizens  to  organize  the 
city  government  at  an  earlier  period  of  the  year,  stating  that  the 
two  first  months  of  the  year  were  those  of  the  greatest  leisure, 
and  would  give  the  new  government  enlarged  opportunities  to 
review  the  proceedings  of  their  predecessors,  and  to  digest  their 
own  ;  more  ample  time  to  make  the  necessary  contracts  for  the 
service  of  the  year,  before  the  business  season  commenced,  and 
greatly  facilitate  the  operations  of  the  city ;  concluding  with  a 
recommendation  that  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city 
should  be  called,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  thek  authority  to 
apply  to  the  Legislature  for  such  a  change  in  the  city  charter, 
that  the  municipal  elections  should  take  place  annually,  in  the 

Now  there  is  no  clause  in  the  charter  of  the  city  giving  any  color  to  the  exer- 
cise of  a  power  to  call  any  public  meeting  of  citizens  in  wards,  except  in  cases 
specifically  enumerated,  in  which  it  is  not  pretended  that  the  meeting  for  which 
that  now  requested  to  be  called  is  included. 


180  MUNICIPAL  HISTOET. 

month  of  December,  and  the  municipal  year  commence  on  the 
first  Monday  in  January.  The  sanction  of  the  inhabitants  hav- 
ing been  obtained,  the  Legislature,  by  an  act  passed  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  June,  1825,  authorized  the  proposed  alteration 
of  the  charter ;  and  this  city  year  included,  of  consequence,  but 
eight  months. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.    1825. 

Jo  SI  AH   QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

An  Act  authorizing  a  New  Organization  of  the  Fire  Department  applied  for 
and  obtained  from  the  State  Legislature  —  Sanction  of  the  Act  by  the  Citi- 
zens —  Measures  pursued  to  carry  it  into  effect  —  Sites  for  Engine  Houses 
selected  —  Reservoirs  constracted  —  Lafayette  revisits  the  City  —  Measures 
adopted  on  the  Occasion  by  the  City  Council. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  city  government,  in  May, 
1825,  a  joint  committee  of  the  City  Council,  consisting  of  the 
Mayor,  Aldermen  Blake,  Marshall,  and  Bryant,  and  of  Messrs. 
Oliver,  Parker,  Rice,  Dyer,  Fisher,  Wells,  and  Elliot,  of  the  Com- 
mon Council,  was  raised  on  the  fu-e  department,  according  to  the 
recommendation  of  the  preceding  City  Council.  On  their  report 
a  vote  was  passed,  that  a  new  organization  of  it  was  expedient, 
and  another,  authorizing  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  to  apply  to 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  to  invest  the  officers  of  the  proposed 
fire  department,  when  elected,  with  such  powers  and  authorities 
as  might  be  requisite. 

The  Mayor,  in  reply  to  his  inquiries,  received  a  letter  from 
Thomas  Franklin,  who  had  been  for  twenty  years  Chief  Engi- 
neer of  the  Fire  Department  of  the  city  of  New  York,  of  the 
following  tenor :  "  Relative  to  our  system  of  extinguishing  fires, 
/  believe,  from  long  experience,  it  is  the  best  that  can  be 
DEVISED ;  and  I  respectfully  recommend,  that  a  suitable  person 
be  appointed  to  visit  and  examine  our  fire  department,  and  see 
the  operation  thereof.  I  am  persuaded  it  will  be  more  effectual 
than  any  written  communication." 

In  consequence  of  this  suggestion,  the  Committee  of  the  City 
Council  commissioned  George  Darracott,  a  citizen  of  Boston,  — 
who  had  been  one  of  its  firewards,  and  who  was  highly  qualified 
by  experience,  energy,  and  practical  skill,  —  to  visit  New  York 
and  Philadelphia,  and  inquire  into  the  organization  of  their  fire 
16 


182  MUNICIPAL   HISTORY. 

department,  and  to  examine  into  the  construction,  size,  and 
power  of  their  engines. 

Mr.  Darracott  immediately  visited  those  cities,  and  received  in 
both  every  facility  for  becoming  acquainted  with  their  whole 
system  of  fire  police.  On  the  first  of  June  ensuing,  he  addressed 
a  letter  to  the  Mayor,  minutely  replying  to  all  the  particulars 
included  in  his  commission,  with  precision  and  with  practical 
statements  and  reflections,  resulting  in  an  unequivocal  expres- 
sion of  opinion,  that  "  such  is  the  advantage  of  the  system  in  use 
in  those  cities,  that  it  could  not  be  too  early  pressed  upon  the 
attention  of  the  city  authorities  of  Boston  ; "  adding,  that 
"  although  the  fu'emen  of  Boston  possessed  as  much  intrepidity 
as  any  men,  and  risked  readily  both  their  property  and  per- 
sons, yet  they  have  not  been  accustomed  to  regard  favorably 
the  hose  system,  and  seldom  make  use  of  hose,  except  when 
they  cannot  play  from  the  pipe.  The  reverse  of  this  is  the  case 
in  New  York.  It  there  frequently  happens,  when  a  fire  originates 
in  narrow  passage-ways,  where  engines  cannot  operate  to  advan- 
tage, that  they  are  placed  in  the  centre  of  one  of  their  large 
squares,  entirely  out  of  view  of  the  fire,  and  the  hose  is  led 
tlirough  stores  and  houses  in  the  vicinity.  This,  with  the  effi- 
cient organization  of  the  various  component  parts  of  the  depart- 
ment, and  the  playing  of  the  ivliole  under  the  supreme  command 
of  one,  is  what,  in  my  opinion,  after  a  minute  and  careful  inspec- 
tion of  the  whole  system,  gives  the  firemen  of  New  York,  such  a 
decided  superiority  over  those  of  any  other  place.  To  this  con- 
clusion my  mind  has  been  irresistibly  led.  I  have  always  felt  a 
degree  of  pride  in  the  character  of  our  Boston  firemen,  and  never 
would  concede  the  point,  that  fires  were  not  better  managed 
here  than  elsewhere.  But  recent  events  have  caused  doubts  in 
my  mind.  Those  doubts  are  now  confirmed.  The  fault  lies  not 
in  the  men,  but  in  the  system."  This  letter  was  immediately 
published  for  the  information  of  the  citizens,  and  a  petition  at 
once  presented  to  the  State  Legislature,  conformably  to  the 
authority  given  by  the  City  Council,  for  powers  to  organize  a 
fire  department  in  Boston,  on  the  principles  which  have  beer 
stated. 

There  was,  however,  reason  to  fear,  that  such  was  the  invete- 
rate animosity  of  certain  individuals  to  the  system  proposed, 
some  of  whom  were  members  of  the  Legislatm-e  and  of  the  Bos- 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  183 

ton  seat,  that  their  influence  would  be  thrown  in  favor  of  reject- 
ing the  application  altogether,  without  giving  the  citizens  oppor- 
tunity to  express  their  opinion  upon  it.  The  Mayor,  therefore, 
to  cast  upon  the  opponents  of  the  system  the  responsibility  of 
such  total  rejection,  caused  the  following  address  to  be  imme- 
diately printed  and  transmitted  to  each  member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture. 

TO    THE    MEMBERS    OP    THE    BOSTON   SEAT,  IN    THE    LEGISLATURE    OF 
MASSACHUSETTS. 

Boston,  12th  June,  1825. 

Gentlemen  :  —  Understanding  tliat  doubts  are  entertained,  concerning  the 
principle  of  the  bill,  relative  to  a  fire  department,  and  that  too  by  members  of 
the  Boston  seat,  I  deem  it  my  duty  not  to  permit  that  bill  to  fail,  without  dis- 
tinctly explaining  the  views  of  the  City  Council  upon  the  subject.  If  the  city  is 
again  made  subject  to  destruction  by  the  inapplicability  of  our  present  system  to 
the  existing  state  of  population,  I  am  desirous  that  the  City  Council  shall  escape 
the  responsibllit}'^  of  such  misfortime. 

The  principal  object  of  the  bill,  is  to  vest  in  the  City  Council  the  poioer  of 
constituting  an  efficient  fire  department,  hnd,  for  tins  purpose,  that  they  should 
have  the  ap)pointment  of  the  officers  of  that  department  and  the  distribution  of 
their  duties.  The  power  to  appoint  and  to  prescribe  the  duties  is  the  simj)le  object. 
If  it  fail,  there  can  be  no  organization  of  an  efScient  fire  department,  and  the 
consequences  I  need  not  portray. 

The  present  system  is,  from  the  nature  of  things,  inapplicable  to  the  existing 
state  of  population,  and  it  cannot  be  made  apphcable. 

At  present,  thirty-six  members  compose  a  board  of  firewards,  and  as  many 
more  as  the  City  Council  ma,y  determine.  They  are  chosen  in  wards.  T)ieir 
power  consists,  — 

1st.  In  requiring,  during  fire,  assistance  in  extinguishing  it,  or  in  removing 
goods  or  guarding  them,  and  in  suppressing  tumults  or  disorders. 

2d.  In  directing  and  appointing  the  stations  and  operations  of  engines  and 
enginemen,  and  of  all  persons  in  extinguishing  fires. 

This  power  is  supported  by  the  sanction  of  a  penalty  of  ten  dollars,  on  refusal 
or  neglect  to  obey  their  orders. 

This  system  had  its  origin  in,  and  from  the  nature  of  things  is  solely  applica- 
ble to  comparatively  small  towns. 

-The  authority  of  firewards,  though  called  ])oiver,  is  in  fact  influence.  Of 
what  possible  use  toward  an  efficient  extinguishment  of  a  fire  is  the  recovery  of 
ten  dollars  the  next  day  on  a  delinquent  ?  Of  the  thousand  neglects  and  refu- 
sals which  occur  at  every  fire,  how  many  are  prosecuted?  Comj)aratively 
speaking,  not  one  ! 

The  efficient  authority  of  firewards,  under  our  present  system  is  mere  influ- 
ence. And,  as  such,  the  highest  and  the  most  influential  citizens,  who  could  be 
persuaded  to  take  the  office,  it  was  the  practice  to  make  firewards  ;  to  the  end 
that  the  individuals  whom  they  required  to  assist,  might  be  unwilling  to  refuse, 
either  through  shame  or  respect. 


184  MUNICIPAL  mSTOEY. 

This  was  tlie  real  efScient  power  of  the  present  system.  But  it  is  obvious 
that  the  whole  of  this  power  is  annihilated,  when  a  city  is  grown  to  such  a  size, 
as  that  not  one  in  ten  of  the  firewards,  let  him  be  ever  so  respectable,  can  be 
known  to  the  attendant  multitude,  when  that  multitude  are,  for  the  most  part, 
assembled  not  from  sympathy  for  the  sufferers,  but  from  idle  curiosity,  and  many 
from  worse  motives ;  when,  from  the  practice  of  insuring,  and  the  belief  preva- 
lent that  the  loss  vnll  be  borne  by  the  cajjital  of  insurance  offices,  indifference  to 
them  becomes  more  prevalent,  and  disinclination  to  incur  the  labor  and  hazard 
of  assisting  in  extinguishing  them  more  general ;  and  that  too  in  those  very 
classes  of  the  community  whose  weight  of  character  and  property  used  formerly 
to  constitute  the  strength  of  the  '  influence  '  of  firewards,  by  cooperating  in  their 
exertions. 

Is  it  wonderful,  in  such  a  state  of  population  and  of  feeling,  that  the  scenes 
which  every  man  has  witnessed  of  late  at  fires  should  occur  ?  The  surrounding 
multitude  have  neither  shame  nor  fear,  in  refusing  the  fireward,  and  running 
away  in  masses  as  soon  as  he  is  seen  with  his  badge  of  office  advancing  towards 
them ;  or  if  a  few  peld  a  reluctant  assent  temporarily,  yet  quitting  the  lanes, 
or  leaving  the  work  assigned  them,  as  soon  as  the  fireward's  back  is  turned. 

The  result  of  this  state  of  things  is  as  undeniable  as  it  is  inervitable,  and  the 
consequences  and  duties  resulting  from  it  are  equally  plain  and  unquestionable. 

The  system  of  depending  upon  the' aid  of  the  surrounding  multitude  must  be 
abandoned,  and  with  it  the  system  dependent  upon  mere  influence  or  soHcitation 
of  sympathies. 

A  system  must  be  adopted,  suited  to  a  large  population,  which  every  day  is 
growing  more  mixed  and  less  sympathizing  with  each  other;  in  other  words, 
discipline,  suboi'dination,  and  a  well-marshalled  arrangement,  in  which  success  is 
made  to  depend  upon  the  organization  of  the  department  and  its  own  efficiency, 
and  not  upon  the  reluctant  aid  of  those  who  happen  to  be  present. 

In  other  words,  Boston,  like  New  York  and  other  great  cities,  must  have  a 
fire  department  based  upon  the  principle  of  being  adequate  to  self-protection,  in 
which  the  assistance  of  the  mass  of  the  citizens,  so  far  from  being  solicited,  is  in 
fact  prohibited ;  a  system  not  of  Influence,  but  of  self-dependent  power. 

If  it  be  denied  to  the  present  earnest  application  of  the  City  Council,  there 
needs  no  spirit  of  prophecy  to  foretell  that  it  will,  at  no  great  distance  of  time 
he  hurnt  into  us. 

This  system,  as  it  exists  in  New  York,  is  founded  upon  the  use  of  suction  and 
distributing  hose,  in  filling  their  engines,  instead  of  buckets;  by  which  it  is 
proved  that  every  hundred  feet  of  Iwse  is  as  effectual  as  the  presence  of  sixty  men 
with  buckets  ;  whereby  the  presence  of  the  multitude  is  not  rendered  necessary. 
The  discipUne  of  the  department  applies  only  to  those  who  belong  to  it.  Great 
efficiency  and  energy  is  the  result.  And  a  system  of  influence  is  abandoned, 
and  one  of  efficiency  substituted. 

To  the  introducing  of  this  system,  the  City  Council  have  already  authorized 
a  great  expense  for  engines  and  hose,  and  must  incur  more. 

In  order  to  make  it  eflectual,  discipline  must  be  introduced,  subordination 
established,  practice  in  the  use  of  tlie  hose  apparatus  encouraged.  For  this  pur- 
pose it  is  absolutely  essential  that  the  power  proposed  by  this  bill  should  be 
invested  In  the  City  Council. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  185 

Thirty-six  men,  coequal  in  power,  excludes  the  idea  of  organization  or  subor- 
<lination.  How  absurd  is  it  to  any  efficient  responsibility,  that  the  body  of  men 
which  are  inti-usted  with  the  power  of  supplying  the  means  and  instruments 
should  be  denied  the  power  of  selecting  the  agents  and  organizing  the  depart- 
ment which  is  to  make  use  of  them  !  How  fruitful  in  disputes  and  controversies 
must  be  such  an  attempt. 

This  system  is  not  theory.  It  is  now  in  existence,  practised  and  satisfactory. 
I  subjoin  extracts  '  from  a  letter  from  the  late  Chief  Engineer  of  New  York,  con- 
cerning the  excellence  of  their  system.  Above  all,  I  subjoin  an  extract  from  a 
letter  of  George  Darracott,  Esq.,  formerly  a  fireward  of  this  city,  who  has  been 
sent  on  by  the  city  authorities  to  examine  the  actual  state  of  things  in  this 
respect  in  New  York. 

I  entreat  the  gentlemen  of  the  Boston  delegation  so  far  to  obtain  the  bill,  if 
possible,  as  to  be  subject  to  the  acceptance  or  refusal,  by  ballot  of  the  citizens 
of  Boston,  at  a  general  meeting. 

Considering  this  measure  to  be  of  the  most  vital  importance  to  the  prosperity 
and  safety  of  this  city,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  address  this  letter  to  you,  gen- 
tlemen, and  to  give  it  publicity,  to  the  end  that  the  views  of  the  City  Council 
might  not  be  misapprehended,  and  that  if  this  measure  fail,  it  shall  not  be  attri- 
butable to  any  neglect,  indifference,  or  shrinking  from  official  responsibility  in 
them.  Very  respectfully,  yours, 

JOSIAH  QuiNCY. 

The  coui'se  thus  adopted  proved  successful.  The  purpose  of 
at  once  absolutely  rejecting  the  system  was  not  pursued ;  and 
on  the  eighteenth  of  June,  1825,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legis- 
lature "  establishing  a  fire  department  in  the  city  of  Boston," 
dependent  for  its  final  adoption  on  the  votes  of  the  citizens.  A 
general  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  thereupon  called,  to  vote 
on  the  subject  on  the  seventh  of  the  then  ensuing  July. 

Notwithstanding  these  statements  and  exertions,  the  hostility 
to  the  proposed  system  was  not  allayed. 

The  private  interests  it  opposed,  and  the  attachment  to  old 
customs  which  it  thwarted,  rendered  final  success  dubious.  The 
ward  rooms  rang  with  patriotic  harangues  on  the  infringement 
of  the  ancient  liberties  of  the  people,  by  depriving  them  of  the 
power  of  electing  firewards ;  and  the  press,  Mdth  warning  voices 
on  the  usurpation  of  powers,  which,  it  was  asserted,  could  best 
be  exercised  by  the  body  of  the  citizens.  The  attempt  to  deny 
citizens  the  right  of  assisting  each  other  in  distress,  was  indig- 
nantly reprobated  ;  and  it  was  publicly  declared,  that  "  it  would 
not  be  submitted  to  by  the  fire-proof  brethren  of  the  North  End." 

1  For  these  extracts,  see  pp.  182,  183. 
16* 


186  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

The  idea  of  efficiency  in  a  hose  system,  and  of  engines  putting 
out  fires,  by  playing  into  one  another,  was  treated  as  ridiculous. 
Language  of  this  kind  began  to  be  used,  not  only  by  the  vio- 
lent and  prejudiced,  but  even  by  men  from  whom  a  higher  know- 
ledge and  better  feelings  might  have  been  anticipated.  In  this 
state  of  the  controversy,  the  Mayor  wrote  and  distributed,  on  his 
individual  responsibility,  on  the  day  previous  to  the  general 
meeting,  the  following  address,  explanatory  of  the  views  of  the 
City  Council,  and  urging  the  citizens  to  attend  the  meeting 
and  give  in  their  ballots,  by  all  the  considerations  he  thought 
calculated  to  awaken  and  to  influence. 

TO    THE    CITIZENS    OF   BOSTON. 

PerceivinGt  that  tlie  acceptance  or  rejection  of  tlie  'act  establishing  a  fire 
department '  is  a  Subject  of  some  discussion  in  the  public  prints,  and  being  desi- 
rous, "whenever  that  question  is  taken,  that,  whatever  may  be  the  event,  its  real . 
nature  and  consequences  may  not  be  misapprehended  by  my.  fellow-citizens,  I 
deem  It  my  duty,  In  the  relation  I  stand  to  the  city,  to  make  a  distinct  develop- 
ment of  the  subject.  Considering  also  its  nature  and  the  circiunstances  con- 
nected with  it,  I  cannot  deem  this  duty  fulfilled  as  it  ought  to  be,  unless  I  annex 
my  name  to  this  elucidation. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  use  any  words  to  prove  that  our  present  system 
of  protection  against  fire  Is,  for  some  reason  or  other,  not  satisfactory  to  the  citi- 
zens of  tills  metropolis. 

It  will  only  be  necessary  to  recall,  on  this  point,  the  recollection  of  our  fel- 
low-citizens to  the  deep  discontent  manifested  at  the  conduct  and  result  of  both 
the  last  great  fires,  —  that  In  Beacon  and  that  In  Central  Street. 

On  both  these  occasions,  the  Inadequacy  of  our  means  of  protection,  or  the 
insufficiency  of  their  application  was  palpable,  and  the  discontent  expressed  little 
short  of  universal. 

Great  difi*erence  of  opinion,  however,  was  manifested  as  to  the  causes  of  the 
confusion,  disorder,  and  inefficiency  exhibited  on  these  occasions.  Some 
lamented  the  want  of  water.  Some  the  want  of  buckets.  One  set  of  men  com- 
plained of  the  want  of  power  in  the  firewards  to  command.  Another  of  the 
want  of  v/illlngness  in  the  multitude  present  to  obey.  And  all,  of  the  general 
want  of  fire  clubs,  and  of  those  ancient  associations  for  mutual  protection  on 
occasion  of  fire. 

In  this  state  of  sentiment  and  feeUng,  which  notoriously  existed,  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  City  CouncU  to  ascertain  the  real  causes  of  the  evils  of  which  all 
complained,  and  apply  remedies  suited  and  adequate  to  the  nature  of  the  case. 

Now,  It  was  impossible  to  reflect  upon  this  acknowledged  state  of  things,  with 
the  seriousness  which  a  sense  of  duty  and  of  responsibility  imposed  on  the  City 
Council,  without  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  all  these  wants  or  deficiencies 
were,  more  or  less,  founded  in  fact,  and  the  resulting  want  of  protection  was  not 
so  much,  if  at  all,  attributable  to  the  men,  who  had  the  control  of  the  present  sys- 
tem, as  to  that  system  itself;  in  other  words,  that  the  evils  of  which  all  com- 


.  CITY  GOVEHmiENT.  187 

plained,  were  attributable  chiefly,  if  not  solely,  to  the  inajypUcnhiUl)/  of  our  pre- 
sent s^yxtem  of  protection  a(/ainstfre,  to  the  j^resent  state  and  relations  of  the  popu- 
lation of  our  city.  And  as  this  population  was  every  day  increasing  with  great 
rapidity,  our  present  system  was  every  day  with  like  rapidity  growing  more 
inadequate  to  eflTect  that  protection  the  citizens  had  a  right  to  demand. 

A  very  transient  reflection  on  the  acknowledged  state  of  things  will,  I  think, 
satisfy  my  fellow-citizens  of  the  justice  of  this  conclusion. 

And  first,  of  the  complaint  of  the  want  of  water.  A  deficiency  in  this  respect 
is  unquestionable,  and  means  are  in  train  for  remedying  It,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  City  Council.  Yet  the  truth  is,  that  we  have  as  much  water  now  as  we 
ever  had  in  tlie  city,  and  as  we  had  in  those  times  when  the  conduct  of  fires 
gave  great  and  just  content  in  our  city.  Assuredly  also,  the  deficiency  of  water 
in  the  vicinity  of  Beacon  Street  or  of  Central  Street,  could  not  be  considered  as 
the  cause  of  the  confusion,  disorder,  and  inefliciency  which  all  complained  of 
on  both  those  occasions. 

.  On  the  contrary,  if  our  present  system  be  sufficient,  a  manifest  deficiency  in 
the  article  of  water  would  be  a  reason  for  order  and  regularity,  rather  than  a 
cause  of  disorder  and  confusion. 

Our  present  system  presuj)poses  either  a  tcill  in  the  surrounding  multitude 
at  fires,  to  aid  in  forming  lanes  to  pass  water  to  the  engines,  or  a  poicer  in  the 
firewards  to  com2:)el  them  to  form  such  lanes. 

Now,  just  in  proportion  as  water  in  the  vicinity  of  any  fire  is  deficient,  is  the 
necessity  apparent  that  it  should  be  brought  from  a  distance;  and,  of  course, 
that  the  efficiency  of  the  wUl,  or  the  power  to  make  lanes,  should  be  manifested. 
If  our  present  system  be,  therefore,  in  this  respect,  sufficient,  the  alacrlt}-  to  form 
lanes  and  to  preserve  order  in  the  multitude  present,  and  the  facility  with  which 
the  firewards  are  enabled  to  forai  the  one  and  preserve  the  other,  will  be 
increased  rather  than  diminished,  by  the  existence  of  so  great  an  exigency. 
How  It  was  on  both  occasions,  can  best  be  answered  by  the  firewards  and  the 
citizens  present. 

Again,  —  are  the  evils  of  which  we  complain  to  be  attributed  to  the  want  of 
buckets,  of  fire  clubs,  or  of  any  of  the  ancient  associations  for  mutual  protec- 
tion ?  What  is  the  reason  of  this  ?  "Why  are  we  deficient  in  buckets  ?  Why 
are  the  members  of  fire  clubs  greatly  duninlshed  ?  Why  those  ancient  as- 
sociations abandoned  or  grown  into  disuse  ?  There  can  be  but  one  answer. 
The  state  of  things  is  changed  in  this  respect.  With  the  greatness  of  popula- 
tion, a  different  state  of  feehng  and  of  modes  of  protection  have  grown  up. 

Formerly,  one  could  not  open  the  front  door  of  the  highest  or  the  richest 
citizen,  without  having  his  eye  greeted  with  at  least  two  buckets,  containing 
fire  bags  and  a  bed  key,  all  duly  labelled,  indicating  to  what  fire  society  he  be- 
longed. The  same  was  ti'ue  in  relation  to  the  house  of  almost  every  citizen, 
except  those  of  the  poorest  class. 

At  this  day,  how  many  doors  can  you  open  and  behold  the  same  sight  ?  I 
answer,  within  bound,  not  one  in  fifty.  Why  is  this  ?  If  you  ask  the  owner, 
and  he  answers  truly,  nine  times  in  ten  it  will  be,  — '  I  am  insured ;  why  should 
I  keep  fire  buckets?  ^Vhy  subject  myself  to  the  rules  and  customs  of  fire 
clubs  ?  Or  why  turn  out  to  fires  at  all  ?  I  go  to  the  expense  of  protecting 
myself.    I  ask  no  protection  from  others,  and  I  mean  to  incm'  no  voluntarj' 


188  MUNICIPAL  HISTOKY. 

expense ;  and,  mucli  more,  will  not  incur  tlie  risk  of  health  and  life  in  protect- 
ing them.' 

However  cold,  selfish,  or  calculating  this  language  may  seem,  it  is  the  prac- 
tical language  of  men  in  all  great  cities.  In  such  cities,  the  influential  classes  of 
citizens,  the  householders,  and  men  of  property  of  every  description,  grow  more 
in  the  habit  of  protecting  themselves,  more  unwilling  to  incur  the  risk  and  the 
labor  which  aiding  at  fires  makes  necessary ;  and  the  number  of  those  who  are 
indifferent  on  such  occasions,  or  who  are  willing  to  make  profit  by  the  misfor- 
tunes of  others,  is  increased.  The  consec[uence  is,  that  in  all  cities,  after  they 
have  attained  a  certain .  point  of  greatness,  the  system  of  depending  upon  the 
aid  of  all  the  citizens  has  been  abandoned,  and  a  system,  self-dependent,  and 
which,  so  far  from  requiring  the  aid  of  all  the  citizens,  excludes  that  aid,  has 
been  adopted. 

The  substantial  question,  therefore,  presented  to  the  citizens  of  Boston  is 
this,  —  having  become  a  city,  with  a  great  population,  will  you  adopt  a  system  con- 
formable to  the  state  of  things  in  which  you  exist  ?  or,  with  a  great  population,  will 
you  adhere  to  a  system  adapted  only,  and  which  can  be  efficient  only,  in  a  city 
with  comparatively  a  very  small  population  ?  Whatever  prejudices  may  exist 
upon  the  subject,  and  whatever  interests  or  feeHngs  may  be  affected  by  the 
avowal,  it  is  my  duty  to  state,  as  the  result  of  all  the  researches  made  under  the 
authority  of  the  City  Council,  on  the  subject,  that  the  present  system  of  firewards 
is  not,  and  cannot  he  made,  an  efficient  system  of  protection  against  fire,  with  a 
population  such  as  at  present  exists  in  this  city.  The  fault  is  not  in  the  men, 
hvA  the  system. 

Thirty-six  men  are  annually  chosen,  in  wards,  all  equal  in  power;  and  in 
cases  of  fire,  any  three  have  precisely  the  same  poiver  with  every  other  three.  I 
lay  aside  all  questions  concerning  the  effect  of  choosing  in  wards,  rather  than  by 
general  ticket.  I  take  it  for  granted,  that  the  men,  thus  chosen,  are  the  best 
thirty-six  men  that  exist  in  the  city  for  this  purpose,  and  that  they  always  will  be 
the  best. 

I  ask,  then,  what  are  the  efficient  powers  of  such  firewards,  in  relation  to 
commanding  aid  on  these  occasions,  considered  in  the  light  of  substantial  jDrotec- 
tion  ?  The  answer,  and  only  answer  that  can  be  given,  is,  that  '  they  can  require 
the  assistance  of  all  persons  jnesent  to  aid  in  extinguishing  fires'  But,  suppose 
the  persons  required  refuse  or  neglect  to  obey  ?  What  then  ?  They  are  liable 
to  be  prosecuted  the  next  day  for  ten  dollars  ! 

The  penalty,  indeed  is  heavy ;  but  what  is  It  as  it  respects  efficient  protec- 
tion? 

Of  the  thousands,  which,  at  every  great  fire,  either  refuse  or  neglect  to  obey 
the  fireward,  and  shrink  from  him,  or  go  away  as  soon  as  he  approaches,  how 
many  have  ever  been  prosecuted,  and  paid  their  ten  dollars.  Comparatively 
speaking,  not  one. 

This  great  authority  of  the  fireward,  on  which  so  much  reliance  is  placed, 
when  looked  to  for  efficient  protection,  turns  out  to  be  nothing  more  than  the 
good  toill  of  the  persons  present.  The  fireward  orders,  and  if  the  person  ordered 
wills,  he  oheys;  if  he  does  not  so  loill,  he  lets  it  alone.  And  this  is  the  whole  mat- 
ter. For,  unless  in  the  case  of  some  flagrant  insult  or  outrage,  he  never  hears 
any  more  of  the  business.    Nor  can  there  be  any  blame  cast  on  the  fireward. 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  189 

Amidst  darkness  and  confusion  and  liuriy,  liow  can  he  identify  the  individual, 
much  more  arrest  and  keeji  liim  in  custody  ? 

The  eflicient  authority  of  firewards  turns  out  then  to  be,  after  all,  mere  injlu- 
ence  ;  and  the  whole  system  is  predicated  upon  its  beinr/  influence,  and  nothing  else. 
It  is  a  suflicient  system  in  an  early  stage  of  society,  and  in  a  limited  extent  of 
population.  But  when  society  advances,  when  a  population  becomes  numerous, 
the  weight  of  personal  character  and  influence  is  little  felt;  comparatively  not 
at  all.  And  the  consequence  is,  that  a  system  of  influence  must  be  abandoned, 
and  one  of  efficiency  adopted. 

Now  a  system,  to  be  efficient,  must  be  self-dependent:  not  relying  upon 
whim,  caprice,  or  the  accidental  presence  of  well-disposed  individuals ;  but  pos- 
sessing within  itself,  and  by  the  inherent  force  of  its  own  organization,  the  capa- 
city of  affording  the  protection  required.  By  the  aid  of  hose,  of  suction,  and 
supply  engines,  such  a  system  supersedes  the  necessity  of  lanes,  and,  by  the 
power  of  machines,  renders  only  a  very  small  number  of  persons  suilicient  for 
protection.  This  is  the  system  of  New  York.  The  surrounding  multitude,  in- 
stead of  being  solicited  to  aid,  are  prohibited  from  interfering.  The  engineers, 
the  firemen,  and  hosemen,  and  hook  and  ladder  men,  are  competent  to  manage 
all  the  machines.  The  efficiency  of  this  system  is  not  a  matter  of  speculation. 
The  following  extracts  of  letters,  although  already  published,  deserve  to  be  here 
inserted,  for  the  sake  of  those  who  have  not  seen  them.i 

The  question,  then,  now  presented  to  the  citizens  of  Boston,  is  a  question 
between  two  systems.  And,  on  this  point,  in  order  that  there  may  be  no  mistake 
in  this  matter,  and  no  deception,  I  msh  it  to  be  distinctly  understood,  that  the 
existence  and  present  relations  and  powers  of  firewards  is  loliolly  incompatible 
with  the  system  recommended.,  and  in  practice  in  New  York ;  and  that,  so  lunxj  as 
these  relations  and  j^otuers  subsist,  this  system  cannot  be  introduced. 

For,  although  firewards  make  a  component  part  of  the  system  in  New  York, 
yet  then-  relations  and  their  powex's  are  very  different  from  those  of  fii'ewards  in 
this  city.  One  great  business,  for  instance,  6f  firewardens  under  our  system,  is 
to  make  citizens  assist  at  fires.  Whereas,  one  great  business  of  firewards  In  New 
York,  is  to  '  keep  persons  at  a  distance  from  them.' 

I  know  that  it  is  urged  with  great  warmth  and  vehemence  in  the  public 
prints,  that  the  object  of  the  City  Council  is,  '  to  wrest  from  the  citizens  the 
election  of  firewards.' 

The  truth,  however,  is,  that  the  object  of  the  City  Council  is  of  a  much 
higher  and  more  consequential  character  than  the  poor  acquisition  of  any  such 
elective  power.  It  is  an  endeavor  to  place  the  safety  and  protection  of  the  city 
against  fire  upon  the  basis  of  a  self-dependent,  efficient  system ;  one  that  does 
not  claim  from  age,  or  manhood,  or  boyhood,  as  a  duty,  to  turn  out  and  give  pro- 
tection against  fires,  at  the  exposure  of  health,  and  often  of  fife.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  takes  the  protection  of  the  city  on  itself.  It  asks  of  the  citizens,  not 
immediately  interested,  only  to  keep  away.  It  depends  on  its  own  discipline, 
practice,  force  of  machinery,  and  engines ;  and  relies  not  at  all  on  the  reluctant 
aid  of  casual  bystanders. 

This  system  is  inevitable  in  a  full-grown  state  of  society.    If  our  citizens  do 

1  For  these  extracts  see  pp.  181,  182. 


190  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

not  realize,  or  will  not  admit  the  necessity  of  it  now,  the  adoption  is  only  post- 
poned. Come  it  will.  The  great  teacher,  calamity,  which  has  already  spoken 
once  and  tmce,  will  speak  again  and  again,  imtil  its  voice  is  heard. 

If,  then,  the  effect  of  the  bill  is  to  vest  in  the  City  Council  the  choice  of  the 
firewards,  it  is  because  that  the  powers  and  relations  of  firewards,  in  a  system 
destined  to  give  protection  without  calling  in  the  aid  of  the  multitude  present, 
are  different  from  their  powers  and  relations  in  a  system  like  our  present  one, 
based  upon  depending  on  the  aid  of  that  multitude  altogether. 

Thirty-six  men,  coequal  in  power,  every  three  of  whom  have  a  right  to 
command,  are  wholly  incompatible  with  a  system,  which  is  of  the  nature  of  an 
organized  force,  having  a  head  and  members  subordinate  to  each  other ;  and  in 
which  responsibility  is  precise,  direct,  and  individual. 

It  will,  therefore,  be  seen  by  my  fellow-citizens,  that  the  real  cj[uestion  to  be 
decided  by  them,  on  the  acceptance  and  rejection  of  the  bill,  relates  to  the  two 
systems,  —  that  which  now  exists,  and  that  which  is  recommended. 

So  far  as  the  cjuestion  affects  the  elective  franchise,  it  depends  upon  another 
question ;  and  that  is,  whether  the  City  Council,  the  constitutional  and  respon- 
sible representative  of  all  the  citizens,  be,  or  be  not,  the  jirojDcr  body  to  be  in- 
trusted with  the  organization  of  the  fire  department  of  the  city  ? 

Upon  the  general  expediency  of  retaining  the  present  system,  which  is 
founded  on  the  practicability  of  commanding  the  aid  of  the  whole  multitude  pre- 
sent at  fires,  I  ask  my  feUow-citizens  to  consult  not  only  recent  experience,  but 
also  to  reflect  on  the  actual  relations  of  our  population.  Is  it  not  becoming  every 
clay  less  and  less  homogeneous  ?  By  emigration  and  the  constant  infusion  of 
foreigners,  are  not  the  sympathies  among  citizens,  considered  merely  as  such, 
diminishing  ?  Has  not  an  increased  disposition  to  take  advantage  of  fires,  as 
occasions  for  plunder,  been  manifested  of  late  years  ?  Must  it  not  be  inevitable 
in  every  city  with  an  increasing  population  ?  "\^1iat  right  has  this  city  to  expect 
an  exemption  from  the  common  lot  of  humanity  in  great  cities  ? 

In  making  this  elucidation,  I  am  sensible  that  I  have  exposed  myself  to  the 
charge  of  unsuitable  obtrusiveness.     But  I  am  AviUing  to  submit  to  this,  or  to 
any  other  like  censure,  rather  than  to  ha,ve  the  conviction,  which  I  should  other- 
wise have  felt,  that  I  had  failed  in  my  duty  to  a  people  to  whom  I  owe  so  ma- 
obligations  for  the  confidence  they  have  rejDOsed  in  me. 

My  great  purpose  wIU  be  answered,  if  I  can  draw  the  attention  of  my  fel- 
low-citizens to  the  real  nature  of  the  question  ;  and  that,  when  decided,  an  un- 
equivocal expression  of  their  opinion  should  be  given  by  the  numbei'  of  their 
suffrages ;  and  that  it  should  not  be  left,  as  some  questions  have  been  of  late,  to 
the  decision  of  a  few  individuals  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Hall,  or  who  had  a  parti- 
cular interest  in  the  subject. 

The  question  deeply  interests  the  fate  of  the  whole  city.  Only  let  then  the 
voice  of  the  whole  city  be  heard. 

Your  feUow-citizen, 

Aih  Juhj,  1825.  JosiAH  QuiNCY. 

The  responsibility  thus  assumed  by  the  Mayor  was  received 
with  those  opposite  demonstrations,  of  censure  and  praise,  which, 
in  a  republic,  every  public  officer  may  expect  who  throws  openly 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  191 

his  personal  or  official  influence  into  the  scale,  on  qnestions 
deeply  agitating  contending  parties.  By  one  set  of  men,  it  was 
characterized  as  "obtrusive,"  "busy,"  "meddlesome,"  "using  his 
short-lived  authority  to  augment  the  power  and  perpetuate  the 
influence  of  his  oflice."  By  another,  it  was  denominated  "  a 
noble  spirit  of  independence  in  a  chief  magistrate,  who,  holding 
his  oflice  by  the  popular  voice,  intrepidly  takes  the  hazard  of 
lending  publicly  all  his  influence  to  a  measure  which  he  believes 
will  be  attended  with  important  and  salutary  consequences,  re- 
gardless of  the  manner  in  which  it  may  affect  his  personal  popu- 
larity." The  result  proved  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  these 
measures.  The  meeting,  on  the  seventh  of  July,  as  was  antici- 
pated, proved  one  of  great  struggle  and  excitement.  Upwards 
of  twenty-five  hundred  votes  ivere  cast;  and,  so  powerful  and 
general  was  the  opposition,  that  the  question  in  favor  of  adopt- 
ing the  system  was  decided  by  a  majority  of  only  one  hundred 
and  eighty-three  votes  I  On  so  critical  an  issue  did  a  question, 
thus  vital  to  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  the  city,  turn ! 

Thus,  after  an  open  and  active  struggle,  the  organization  of  an 
independent  fire  department  received  the  support  of  the  citizens 
of  Boston  ;  and,  from  that  time,  a  systematic  com'se  of  measures 
was  steadily  pursued  for  carrying  the  projected  organization  into 
effect,  with  the  general  cooperation  of  the  citizens,  without  any 
obstruction,  except  by  attempts  to  injure  the  apparatus  of  the  de- 
partment, by  cutting  the  hose,  by  a  few  unknown  and  unprindi- 
pled  individuals.  A  committee  of  both  branches  of  the  City 
Council,  consisting  of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Blake  and  Welsh, 
and  Messrs.  Williams,  Barry,  Boies,  and  Wiley,  of  the  Common 
Council,  was  appointed  to  prepare  an  ordinance  in  conformity 
with  the  act  of  the  Legislature.  But  difficulties  yet  lingering 
among  some  classes  of  citizens,  rendered  delay  expedient;  and 
the  details  of  this  ordinance  were  not  conclusively  settled  and 
sanctioned  by  the  City  Council  until  the  end  of  December. 
Time  was  also  required  to  obtain  the  engines  and  apparatus 
ordered  from  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  which  postponed  the 
final  organization  of  the  fire  department  until  the  ensuing  muni- 
cipal year,  now,  for  the  first  time,  about  to  commence  in  Janu- 
ary. 

During  the  controversy  on  the  new  system,  the  Committee  of 
the  City  Council  selected  sites  for  engine  houses;  not  on  the 


192  MUNICIPAL   HISTORY. 

principle  of  economical  and  temporary  expediency  hitherto  chiefly 
regarded,  but  such  a:s  were  best  adapted  to  facilitate  easy  com- 
munication with  the  most  exposed  or  populous  parts  of  the  city. 
With  these  views,  they  selected  a  site  on  Pemberton  Hill,  now 
No.  9,  Tremont  Row,  a  location  in  the  vicinity  of  the  elevated 
streets  on  Beacon  Hill,  nearly  opposite  the  entrance  of  Hanover 
Street  and  other  avenues  descending  to  the  north,  by  which  aid 
could  be  easily  extended  to  sections  of  the  city  the  most  populous 
and  exposed  to  conflagration.  They  also  desu-ed  to  widen  and  im- 
prove the  great  thoroughfare  over  Pemberton  Hill,  then  steep  and 
inconvenient,  and  in  the  winter  season  often  dangerous.  These 
objects  were  regarded  so  important,  that  the  City  Council  au- 
thorized an  offer  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  for  about  five 
hundred  feet  of  land,  which  the  proprietor  rejected.  The  price  of 
the  land  was  therefore  deemed  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to  the 
project.  An  unanticipated  transaction,  however,-^  enabled  the 
city  authorities  to  obtain  the  space  the  improvement  requu'ed 
for  nothing.  The  proprietor  of  the  remaining  land,  therefore, 
was  now  induced  to  accept  an  offer  of  three  thousand  dollars 
for  an  adjoining  lot,  on  which  an  engine  house  was  erected  of 
granite,  on  the  model  of  the  Choragic  monument  at  Athens,  and 
the  engine  and  hydraulion  purchased  at  Philadelphia  were  placed 
in  it.  The  cost  of  this  edifice  was  justified,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
city  government,  by  the  circumstances  under  which  the  improve- 
ment and  pm'chase  had  been  effected;  by  the  satisfaction  a 
building  so  ornamental  to  the  street  gave  to  the  proprietors  of 
estates  in  the  vicinity,  who  had  objected  to  the  erection  of  an 
engine  house  in  their  neighborhood ;  and,  above  all,  by  the  con- 
sideration that,  such  were  the  peculiar  facilities  of  that  location 
for  the  protection  of  the  city,  that  its  future  alienation  ^  was 
deemed  improbable,  and  its  appropriation  to  that  object  would, 
therefore,  be  permanent. 

In  October,  1825,  the  City  Council  appropriated  fifteen  hun- 
dred dollars  for  the  construction  of  two  reservoirs.  Notwith- 
standing their  utter  insufficiency  for  the  requisite  supply  of 
water,  they  were  all  that  could  be  obtained.     Pumps,  buckets, 

1  The  facts  relative  to  this  transaction  were  ofEcially  stated  in  the  Boston 
Courier,  of  the  9th  of  November,  1825. 

2  This  lot  and  the  building  has  been  recently  (1851)  sold,  in  cash,  for  eleven 
thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  193 

and  lanes  of  citizens  continued  to  be  considered,  by  many,  as 
more  efficient  for  tlie  supply  of  the  engines  than  hose.  They  re- 
garded the  new  fire  department  as  an  experiment,  and  of  very 
dubious  result.  In  this  opinion,  some  even  of  the  City  Council 
coincided.  A  destructive  fire  which,  on  the  tenth  of  November, 
1825,  occurred  in  Court  Street,  awakened  the  citizens  again  to 
the  existing  deficiency  of  water,  and  of  the  inadequacy  of  the 
ancient  means  of  applying  it  with  efficient  force  to  the  flames ; 
and  a  committee  of  the  City  Council,  of  which  John  Bellows 
was  chairman,  reported  a  resolve,  which  was  accepted  in  both 
branches,  by  which  an  adequate  appropriation  was  made  for 
the  building  of  thirteen  reservoks,  in  addition  to  the  tivo  already 
authorized,  each  to  be  of  a  capacity  to  contain  tivo  hundred  and 
fifty  hogsheads ;  which  was  immediately  carried  into  effect. 

In  January,  1825,  information  was  received,  that  General  La- 
fayette had  accepted  an  invitation  to  be  present  and  aid  in  lay- 
ing the  corner  stone  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument;  that  he 
would,  in  consequence,  revisit  Boston,  and  probably  be  in  the 
city  on  the  anniversary  of  national  independence.  By  a  com- 
mittee of  the  City  Council,  appointed  to  take  suitable  measures 
on  the  occasion,  the  Mayor  was  requested  to  address  a  letter  to 
General  Lafayette,  expressing  the  gratification  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil at  receiving  this  information,  and  the  universal  satisfaction 
of  the  citizens  of  Boston  at  the  anticipation  of  his  presence  at  that 
interesting  ceremony.  Lafayette,  in  reply,  announced  his  inten- 
tion to  be  present  at  Bunker's  Hill  on  the  seventeenth  of  June ; 
but  that  a  recent  family  bereavement  placed  it  out  of  his  power 
to  be  present  on  the  fourth  of  July  at  the  city  celebration.  In- 
formation was  also  received  from  another  source,  that  Lafayette 
had  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  Hon.  James  Lloyd,  a  senator 
from  Massachusetts  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  to 
reside  in  his  family  during  his  visit  to  the  city. 

'Notwithstanding  this  information,  on  his  arrival  in  Boston,  in 
the  month  of  June,  a  vote  passed  the  City  Com^cil,  authorizing 
the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  "  to  make  such  arrangements  for  his 
honorable  reception  and  entertainment,  during  his  residence  in 
the  city,  as  they  may  deem  expedient  and  proper."  Under  an- 
other vote  of  the  City  Council,  both  branches  of  the  city  govern- 
ment waited  on  Lafayette,  on  the  sixteenth  of  June,  at  the  man- 
sion of  Mr.  Lloyd,  to  offer  their  respects  and  congratulations  on 
17 


194  MUNICIPAL  mSTOKY. 

his  return  to  Boston,  after  his  auspicious  and  successful  progress 
through  the  United  States. 

In  March  preceding,  the  Mayor  had  been  authorized,  by  a  vote 
of  the  City  Council,  to  procure  a  portrait  of  General  Lafayette, 
"  to  be  taken  at  such  time  as  will  suit  his  convenience,  and  to 
draw  his  warrant  for  the  amount." 

To  this  application  of  the  Mayor,  Lafayette  replied,  that  it 
would  not  be  in  his  power  to  comply,  during  the  short  period  he 
expected  then  to  remain  in  the  United  States ;  but  that,  after 
his  retm-n  to  France,  should  it  be  desired,  he  would  with  great 
pleasure  obey  the  wishes  of  the  city.  At  the  same  time,  he  ob- 
served to  the  Mayor,  that  it  was  hardly  possible  for  a  better  like- 
ness to  be  obtained  than  that  which  had  been  recently  taken  of 
him  by  P.  Schaeffer,  one  of  the  first  artists  in  France,  just  before 
he  commenced  his  visit  to  the  United  States,  fine  engravings 
from  which  were  then  of  common  and  easy  attaimnent. 

In  July,  1824,  a  Committee  of  both  branches,  consisting  of  the 
Mayor,  and  Alderman  Benjamin,  with  Messrs.  Prouty,  Russell, 
and  Hartshorne,  of  the  Common  Council,  was  raised  to  consider 
the  expediency  of  authorizing  the  Surveyors  of  Highways  to 
cause  a  prospective  plan  and  elevation  of  all  the  streets  in  the 
city,  to  be  made,  to  comprehend,  as  far  as  possible,  all  future 
improvements,  as  opportunities  may  occm\ 

This  Committee  reported,  in  September  following,  expressing 
their  opinion,  that  it  would  be  greatly  for  the  public  interest  if 
such  a  system  of  surveys  should  be  adopted ;  that  the  present 
course  of  proceeding  originates  in,  and  is  limited  by,  the  im- 
mediate exigency  of  the  particular  estate  on  which  any  owner 
proposes  to  build ;  that  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  after  surveying 
the  estate,  only  decide  how  far  the  street  shall  be  widened  by 
taking  from  that  estate.  In  doing  this,  they  have  no  authority 
to  lay  out  a  prospective  plan  of  any  street,  and  to  guide  their 
proceedings  by  an  enlarged  view  of  the  greatest  improvement 
which  the  general  relations  of  the  street  would  permit,  so  as  to 
become  obligatory  on  their  successors ;  they  are  therefore  reduced 
to  the  prudential  course  of  widening  each  street  to  such  a  rea- 
sonable line,  as  no  futm-e  Board  of  Aldermen  would  hesitate  to 
adopt,  in  relation  to  other  estates,  when  an  opportunity  of  fur- 
ther widening  should  occur.  The  consequence  of  which  is,  that 
the  widening  of  streets,  not  being  governed  by  any  established 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  195 

prospective  plan,  amounts,  for  the  most  part,  only  to  the  cutting 
off  angles  and  removing  occasional  projections,  and  results  in 
leaving,  after  all  is  done,  a  sightless,  iiTegular  outline ;  and 
that,  often  in  cases  where,  if  a  bolder  line  could  be  taken  with 
the  assurance  of  its  being  completed,  improvements  of  an  im- 
portant character  might  be  made,  with  the  acquiescence  of  the 
landholder,  and  with  ultimate  gain,  in  point  of  expense,  to  the 
city. 

The  tendency  of  the  present  system  is  as  little  calculated  to 
give  satisfaction  to  the  owners  of  estates,  as  to  promote  the  im- 
provement of  the  public  streets.  For,  in  general,  owners  of 
estates  would  readily  acquiesce  (on  being  compensated)  in  veiy 
considerable  reduction  of  their  lands,  for  the  sake  of  widening 
streets,  provided  they  could  have  the  assurance  that,  in  future 
time,  the  particular  specified  line  to  which  their  estates  were  cut 
down,  should  be  from  time  to  time  extended,  and  become  the 
permanent  line  of  the  streets. 

An  established  prospective  plan,  such  as  is  suggested,  would 
also  be  greatly  beneficial  in  reducing  the  claims  for  compensa- 
tion, on  the  taking  of  such  lands  by  the  public.  For,  the  par- 
ticular line  of  the  street,  being  established  by  the  city  author- 
ities, recorded,  and  published,  every  subsequent  pm-chaser  of  an 
estate  bounding  on  such  street,  would  acquu*e  it  with  full  notice 
of  the  fact,  and  could  have  no  claim  or  pretence  of  damages  on 
account  of  calculations  made,  or  prices  given,  in  ignorance  of 
the  intention  of  the  city  authorities. 

In  conformity  with  these  views,  the  Committee  reported 
three  resolutions,  which  were,  in  March,  1825,  adopted  by  the 
City  Council,  in  the  following  terms  :  — 

Resolved.  That  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  cause  surveys  of 
the  streets  of  the  city  to  be  made  on  a  prospective  plan,  embracing, 
in  relation  to  each  street,  as  far  as  possible,  the  greatest  ultimate 
practical  improvement  of  such  street,  both  as  it  respects  widen- 
ing and  elevation ;  and  that  they  cause  such  plan  of  each  street, 
as  it  shall  be  completed,  together  with  a  plan  of  the  particular 
estate  affected  by  such  proposed  improvement,  and  the  estimated 
expense  for  carrying  the  same  into  effect,  to  be  laid  before  the 
City  Council ;  and  that  they  continue  such  surveys  until  a  com- 
plete prospective  plan  of  the  streets  of  the  city  shall  be  made 
and  established. 


196  MUNICIPAL  HISTOKY. 

Resolved.  That,  when  such  surveys  shall  be  approved  by  the 
City  Council,  the  same  shall  be  entered  in  a  book,  to  be  kept  for 
that  purpose,  to  be  entitled,  "  The  Book  of  the  Prospective  Plans 
for  the  Improvement  of  the  Streets  of  the  City  of  Boston." 

Resolved.  That,  whenever  such  prospective  plan  of  improve- 
ment in  any  street  shall  be  approved  and  recorded,  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  Mayor,  for  the  time  being,  to  give  public  notice 
thereof  in  two  at  least  of  the  newspapers  published  in  this  city, 
that  all  persons  may  know  the  same  and  govern  themselves 
accordingly. 

Surveys  of  the  streets,  on  the  principles  of  this  report,  were 
immediately  commenced,  and  early  steps  taken  to  carry  its  pro- 
visions into  effect. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1826. 
Jo  SI  AH  QuiNCY,'  Mayor. 

Prosperity  of  the  City  —  Measures  for  introducing  Water  —  Views  of  the  Mayor 
on  the  Subject — Proceedings  of  the  City  Council  —  Powers  of  the  Mayor  in 
the  Suppression  of  Riots  —  Petitions  for  a  general  Contribution  for  Relief  by 
Sufferers  from  Fire  —  The  Result  —  Progress  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market —  Final 
Settlement  of  the  whole  Improvement  —  Organization  of  the  new  Fire  De- 
partment—  Celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July,  1826  —  Death  of  John  Adams 
and  Thomas  Jefferson  —  Tribute  to  their  Memories. 

The  Mayor,  in  his  inaugural  address,^  noticed  the  difficulty  of 
satisfying  the  conflicting  passions  and  interests  always  existing 
in  a  great  community,  and  the  happy  effects  of  the  wisdom,  har- 
mony, and  public  spirit  of  former  city  councils  on  the  prosperity 
of  the  city.  It  appeared  from  the  recent  city  census  that,  during 
the  past  five  years,  the  comparative  increase  of  its  population 
equalled  that  of  any  of  our  maritime  cities,  on  the  basis  of  its 
previous  numbers.  While  the  aggregates  of  property  valuation 
had  increased,  the  ratio  of  taxes  had  diminished.  Although  ad- 
vancing wealth  and  population  had  unavoidably  augmented  the 
amount  of  taxes,  yet  there  had  been,  in  every  successive  year 
since  the  existence  of  om*  city  government,  a  decrease  in  the 
amount  of  uncollected  taxes.  The  expenditures,  in  respect  of 
their  objects,  had  been  apparently  satisfactory  to  a  majority  of 
the  citizens ;  and  the  establishment  of  the  office  of  auditor  of 
accounts  had  introduced  an  order,  simplicity,  and  correctness  in 
that  department  highly  creditable  and  advantageous.  The  atten- 
tion of  the  City  Council  was  now  directed  to  the  importance  of 
obtaining  for  the  city  "  a  never-faUing  supply  of  pm'e  river  or 

^  The  whole  number  of  votes  cast  were  1395,  of  which  Josiah  Quincy  had 
1202.  The  Aldermen  were  Daniel  Carney,  John  Bellows,  Josiah  Marshall, 
Thomas  Welsh,  Jun.,  Henry  J.  Oliver,  John  T.  Loring,  Francis  Jackson,  and 
Edward  H.  Robbins,  Jun. 

2  See  Appendix,  E. 

17* 


198  MUMCIPAL  HISTOEY. 

pond  water,"  which  had  been  enforced  by  the  urgency  of  physi- 
cians ;  and  the  Mayor,  having  received  information  that  an  asso- 
ciation, formed  for  that  purpose,  contemplated  an  application  to 
the  Legislature  for  the  requisite  powers,  expressed  a  hope  that 
the  project  would  be  met  by  the  City  Council  "with  the  most 
decided  and  strenuous  opposition,  and  with  a  corresponding 
spirit  and  determination  to  effect  the  great  object  solely  on  the 
account  and  with  the  resources  of  the  city;"  at  the  same  time, 
"declaring  it  explicitly. to  be  his  opinion  that,  on  that  subject, 
the  city  ought  to  consent  to  no  copartnership." 

Four  days  after  these  views  had  been  thus  publicly  expressed 
by  the  Mayor,  Patrick  T.  Jackson,  a  citizen  commanding,  by  his 
talents,  character,  and  enterprise,  the  entire  confidence  of  the 
community,  associated  with  other  individuals  of  wealth  and  in- 
fluence, petitioned  the  City  Council  to  assist  them  in  obtaining 
from  the  Legislature  an  act  of  incorporation,  giving*  them  author- 
ity "to  construct  an  aqueduct,  for  the  purpose  of  conveying 
into  the  city  a  sufficient  quantity  of  fresh  water  for  the  use  of 
the  inhabitants,  and  for  the  extinguishing  of  fires."  This  peti- 
tion was  referred  to  a  committee,  consisting  of  the  Mayor,  Al- 
derman Welsh,  and  Messrs.  Bassett,  Hallett,  and  Brooks,  of  the 
Common  Council.  The  Committee  and  City  Council,  coincid- 
ing in  the  views  of  the  Mayor,  the  application  received  a  decided 
negative.  Nothing  effectual  was  done  in  consequence  of  this 
movement.  The  Committee  charged  with  the  subject  held  vari- 
ous meetings,  in  which  discussions  were  had  concerning  Neponset 
and  Charles  Rivers,  as  sources  of  supply ;  and  the  Mayor,  on  his 
own  authority,  obtained  contracts  securing  conditional  rights  of 
purchase,  for  the  city,  of  a  majority  of  the  lower  water  rights  on 
both  those  rivers,  at  stipulated  prices,  dependent  upon  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  City  Council  within  a  limited  time.  The  impression 
concerning  the  importance  of  the  subject,  though  generally  ac- 
knowledged, was  far  from  being  universal ;  and  no  willingness 
to  increase  the  city  debt,  for  the  attainment  of  the  object,  was 
manifested.  The  claims  of  the  proprietors  of  the  sources  of 
water  were  regarded  as  too  extravagant  to  be  presented  for  con- 
sideration to  the  City  Council.  The  Mayor,  therefore,  having, 
as  he  thought,  sufficiently  impressed  the  City  Council  and  the 
citizens  with  the  importance  of  retaining  the  right  of  introducing 
water  from  the  resources  of  the  city  alone,  without  the  instru- 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  199 

mentality  of  private  associations;  and  deeming  it  best  for  its 
interests  to  wait  for  times  when  the  urgent  wants  of  the  inhabit- 
ants should  counteract  the  prevailing  apprehension  of  a  city- 
debt,  forbore  any  further  to  urge  the  subject  upon  the  attention 
of  the  City  Council. 

During  the  year  1825,  the  Mayor  was  called  upon  to  suppress 
riots  on  two  occasions.  On  the  first,  the  object  of  the  exertion 
of  his  official  authority  had  no  precedent.  After  consulting  the 
Board  of  Aldermen,  in  order  to  be  able,  in  case  of  any  similar 
emergency,  to  justify  before  a  legal  tribunal  such  exercise  of 
authority  as  circumstances  might  require,  he  submitted  to  coun- 
sel learned  in  the  law  the  nature  of  the  powers  vested  in  the 
office  of  Mayor  by  the  city  charter,  applicable  to  such  occasions. 
The  result  of  their  opinion  being,  that  riots,  routs,  and  unlaw- 
ful assemblies  were  only  cognizable  under  the  laws  of  the  Com.- 
monwealth ;  and  that  the  course  of  proceeding,  and  the  persons 
intrusted  with  their  execution,  were  expressly  pointed  out  in 
those  laws,  among  whom  the  Mayor  of  the  city  was  not  in- 
cluded ;  and  that,  although  it  was  his  duty,  in  the  language  of 
the  charter,  "to  cause  all  laws  for  the  government  of  the  city 
to  be  duly  executed  and  put  in  force ; "  yet,  that  it  was  a  question 
of  some  doubt  how  far  his  authority  extended  in  respect  of  the 
general  laws  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  execution  of  which  was 
intrusted  to  other  authorities.  It  was  therefore  deemed  most 
safe  and  prudent  for  the  Mayor  to  act  as  "justice  of  the  peace 
throughout  the  Commonwealth,"  concerning  whose  powers  in 
such  cases  there  could  be  no  possible  question.  Accordingly, 
the  Mayor,  in  that  capacity,  with  a  strong  police,  assisted  by 
well-disposed  citizens,  who  volunteered  their  services,  proceeded 
to  the  scene  of  riot,  and  dispersed  the  assembly  in  the  course 
prescribed  by  the  statutes  of  the  Commonwealth,  arresting  some 
of  the  offenders  and  sending  others  to  prison. 

On  a  subsequent  occasion,  in  the  case  of  a  disturbance  at 
a  theatre,  the  Mayor,  on  finding  that  a  justice  of  the  peace  was 
in  actual  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  that  office,  with  all  the 
powers  vested  in  him  by  law,  refused  personally  to  interfere, 
deeming  it  for  the  interest  of  the  city  that  the  views  he  enter- 
tained of  the  powers  of  his  office  should  be  distinctly  and  prac- 
tically manifested  to  the  citizens  and  the  public,  to  the  end  that, 
if  the  Mayor  was  to  be  held  responsible  to  act  in  all  such  cases, 


200  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

his  powers  might  be  accurately  defined  and  his  duties  prescribed 
by  law ;  deeming  himself  as  much  bound  to  abstain,  as  Mayor, 
from  assuming  to  exercise  powers  not  vested  in  him  by  his 
oihce,  as  it  was  to  exercise  those  with  which  he  was  intrusted. 

These  views  he  accordingly  spread  before  the  City  Council  in 
this  inaugural  address. 

In  January,  1826,  petitions  from  several  towns  in  the  State  of 
Maine,  whose  inhabitants  had  suffered  from  fires,  praying  that  a 
general  contribution  might  be  authorized  by  the  City  Council 
for  their  relief,  were  referred  to  the  Mayor  and  Alderman  Rob- 
bins,  with  Messrs.  Morey,  Torrey,  and  Howe,  of  the  Common 
Council. 

After  examining  into  the  circumstances  of  the  conflagration 
and  of  the  sufferers,  the  Committee  decided  that  the  City  Coun- 
cil were  not  justified  in  resorting  to  the  mode  of  relief  sought 
by  the  petitioners.  Their  report  stated,  that  the^  distinguished 
liberality  of  the  citizens  of  Boston,  being  unquestionably  the 
cause  of  frequent  applications  for  relief,  the  city  government 
should  consider  it  thek  duty  not  to  permit  the  charity  of  their 
fellow-citizens  to  be  unduly  or  unseasonably  called  upon,  particu- 
larly in  the  form  of  authority,  and  under  the  sanction  of  an  offi- 
cial act;  and  that  their  public  recommendations  of  a  general 
contribution  should  be  resti'icted  to  cases  of  great  and  extensive 
calamity,  which  call  for  the  interposition  of  a  great  commu- 
nity. This  report  was  read  and  accepted  in  both  branches  of 
the  City  Council. 

After  the  organization  of  the  city  government,  in  January, 
1826,  a  committee  i  on  the  extension  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market  was 
appointed  to  carry  into  effect  the  resolutions  of  the  three  last 
City  Councils,  with  the  same  powers  and  authorities,  and  sub- 
ject to  the  same  limitations,  as  the  former  committees.  On  their 
recommendation,  the  City  Council  authorized  the  purchase  of  the 
land  of  William  Welsh,  the  price  not  to  exceed  twenty  thovi- 
sand  dollars,  but  without  any  appropriation,  the  cost  of  the  land 
being  reimbursed,  as  was  anticipated,  by  the  sale  of  the  city 
lots.  A  street  lying  at  the  north  of  the  north  block  of  stores, 
(now  called  Clinton,)  and  extending  to  Exchange  Wharf,  was, 

_  1  The  Committee  were  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Bellows,  INIarshall,  and  Rob- 
bins,  and  Messrs.  Adan,  (President  of  the  Common'  Council,)  Curtis,  Hastings, 
Boies,  Lodge,  Grosvenor,  and  Barnard. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  201 

by  the  effects  of  this  purchase,  obtained  without  cost  to  the 
city.  In  July,  this  Committee  discussed  the  arrangement  of"  the 
stalls  in  the  new  market  house ;  settled  the  terms  on  which 
they  should  be  leased,  and  then  voted  that  the  leases  should 
be  sold  at  public  auction,  unless  the  tenants  of  the  old  mar- 
ket house  chose  to  take  them  at  the  appraisement.  This  they 
readily  did ;  and,  on  the  twenty-sixth  August,  1826,  the  new 
market  house  was  opened,  for  the  first  time,  to  the  public. 

An  order  was  then  passed  by  the  Common  Council,  that  the 
further  use  of  Faneuil  Hall,  as  a  market  house,  should  be  discon- 
tinued. This  was  nonconcurred  by  the  board  of  Aldermen, 
who  requested  the  Mayor  to  lay  before  the  City  Council  a  state- 
ment of  the  obligations  of  the  city,  resulting  from  the  gift  of  Peter 
Faneuil,  and  from  the  votes  passed  by  the  town  of  Boston  in 
reference  to  that  donation.  The  Mayor,  accordingly,  made  a 
fuU  report,  in  conformity  with  that  request,  in  which,  after  recapi- 
tulating all  the  chief  facts  already  detailed  in  this  history ,i  and 
stating  that,  after  the  edifice  had  been  erected  on  the  town's 
land,  by  Mr.  Faneuil,  in  1742,  and  accepted  as  a  market  house 
by  the  inhabitants,  they  repeatedly  shut  it  up,  and  did  not  use  it 
for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  given ;  and  that,  it  having  been 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1761,  it  was  rebuilt  at  the  expense  of  the 
town,  and  the  inhabitants  voted  "that  the  lower  part  of  the 
building  should  not  be  improved,  as  a  market,  until  the  further 
order  and  determination  of  the  town."  The  Mayor,  therefore, 
declared  that,  in  his  judgment,  no  obligation  rested  upon  the 
city,  which  could  affect  any  use  of  the  land  covered  by  the 
building  called  Faneuil  Hall  the  City  Council  should  deem  ex- 
pedient ;  and  votes  in  conformity  with  this  opinion  were  passed 
in  concurrence  with  the  order  of  the  Common  Council. 

On  the  ninth  of  November,  the  superintendent  for  building  the 
new  market  reported,  that  all  the  bills  and  accounts  for  erecting 
it,  — for  labor,  materials,  and  s'ervices,  were  paid,  and  the  whole 
concern  in  a  state  to  be  closed.  The  Committee  then  re- 
quested the  Mayor  to  prepare  a  final  report  on  their  proceed- 
ings; which,  on  the  thirteenth  of  November,  he  accordingly 
submitted  to  them,  detailing  in  it  the  origin  of  the  project,  the 
difficulties  which  had  attended  its  execution,  the  various  changes 

1  See  p.  12. 


202  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY, 

of  plans  and  views  which  had  occurred  in  its  progress,  the 
amount  of  the  moneys  which  had  been  under  their  control,  their 
expenditures,  the  debt  created,  and  the  property  vested  in  the 
city  by  their  operations ;  concluding  with  this  gratifying  result, 
that  "  this  noble  improvement  had  been  completed,  not  only  without 
any  addition  to  the  present  taxes  or  burdens  of  the  citizens,  but 
also  ivithout  the  possibility  of  any  addition  in  future  time,  on  this 
account^  to  their  taxes  or  burdens ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  that  it  has 
augmented,  in  no  inconsiderable  degree,  the  real  and  productive 
property  of  the  cityP 

This  report  was  accepted  by  the   Committee  and  by  both 
branches  of  the  City  Council  unanimously .^ 

1  The  opinion  having  been  at  the  time  assiduously  spread,  that  this  Committee 
had  created  a  debt,  which  it  had  left  no  adequate  funds  to  discharge  ;  and  even 
at  this  day  (1851)  the  belief  being  still  entertained  by  some,  that  its  proceed- 
ings laid  the  foundation  of  the  present  city  debt,  It  is  due  to  'the  memories  of 
the  members  of  that  Committee,  that  the  actual  result  of  their  operations  should 
be  stated  from  unquestionable  documents. 

By  the  official  reports  of  William  Hayden,  Jun., 
the  City  Auditor  in  1826,  it  appears  that  the 
Committee  which  erected  the  market  had  un- 
der their  control,  derived  from  every  source  .  $1,141,272.33 
That  of  this  amount  they  paid,  from  sources  ob- 
tained exclusively  from  their  own  operations,  .  532,797.33 


Leaving  an  apparent  debt  on  the  city  of      •         .        $608,475.00 

The  same  Auditor's  report  shows 
that  the  Committee  delivered 
over  to  the  City  Treasurer  un- 
questionable demands,  amount- 
ing to  $4,560.92 

And  also  good  notes  on  interest,  of 
a  like  unquestionable  nature, 
amounting  to       ....       219,709.82 


Constituting  an  aggregate  fund,  of  which  the  city 

has  since  availed  itself  in  full,  of      .         .         .  224,270.74 


So  that  the  real  debt  left  on  the  city  was  only      .        $384,204.26 

The  annual  interest  on  608,475  dollars,  paid  by 

the  city  on  the  apparent  debt,  was    .         .         .  $31,622.95 

And   the   annual   interest   on   $219,709.82,   the 

available  notes  delivered  the  city,  was      .         .  11,109.23 

It  results  that  the  annual  interest  the  city  has 

ever  had  to  pay  was  only         ....         $20,513.72 

_  As  an  offset  for  this  debt,  and  to  pay  this  Interest,  the  Committee  vested  in  the 
city  the  new  market  house,  with  the  land  it  covered  (27,000  feet)  ;  also,  certain 
tracts  of  land,  lying  to  the  north  of  the  north  block  of  stores  on  North  Market 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  203 

All  the  preparatory  steps  being  taken,  and  the  principles  settled 
for  the  establishment  of  a  Fire  Department,  in  the  preceding  year, 
the  present  City  Council,  immediately  after  its  organization, 
took  measures  to  carry  it  into  effect.  And,  in  January,  1826, 
they  appointed  Samuel  Devens  Harris  chief  engineer,  and  all 
the  other  engineers  and  firemen  required  by  the  city  ordinance. 

Street,  containing  upwards  of  26,000  feet  of  land,  valued  by  them  at  $100,000  ; 

also,  142,000  feet  of  flats  and  lands,  lying  at  the  eastward  of  the  New  Market 

House,  estimated  at  the  value  of  another  $100,000  by  the  Committee,  in  their 

report. 

Concerning  the  product  to  the  city  of  these  three 
species  of  property,  it  appears,  by  an  official 
statement  of  Elisha  Copeland,  the  present 
(1851)  City  Auditor,  that,  during  the  last 
'  twenty-five  years,  (1826-27  to  1850-51,  in- 
clusive,) the  incomes  of  the  city  market,  after 
deducting  every  payment  made  on  its  account, 
including  salaries  and  all  expenses  for  carry- 
ing it  on,  amounted  to  the  net  sum  of  .  .  $562,460.66 
And  that,  during  the  same  period,  the  incomes 
of  the  City  Wharf,  which  had  been  built  in 
1831,  at  an  expense  of  $18,856.75,  on  the 
flats,  vested  in  the  city  by  the  Committee, 
,  after  deducting  the  cost  of  its  erection.,  above- 
mentioned,  and  adding  the  incomes  from  the 
tracts  of  land  lying  to  the  north  of  the  North 
Market  Street  block,  amounted  to  the  net 
sum  of 162,002.86 


So  that  the  net  incomes  of  the  property,  during 
twenty-five  years,  therefore,  (loitlwut  including 
the  value  of  the  last-mentioned  tracts  of  land, 
which  was  received  in  full  hy  the  city,  by  sales 
and  application  of  it  to  city  uses,)  amounted  to        $724,463.52 

Equivalent  to  an  annual  income  of       .         .         .  $28,970.00 

To  discharge  the  annual  income  of  the  debt  cre- 
ated, amounting,  as  above  stated,  to  .         .  20,513.72 


Leaving  to  the  city  an  annual  surplus  of  interest, 

amounting  to $8,456.28 


And,  by  way  of  equivalent  or  offset  for  the  debt 
of  $384,204.26,  created  for  the  city  by  the 
Committee,  they  vested  in  the  city  the  new 
mai'ket,  which  never  has  been  estimated  at 
less  than $500,000.00 

And  the  City  Wharf  and  flats,  which,  although 
usually  estimated  much  higher,  can,  at  this 
day  (1851),  without  fear  of  contradiction,  be 
valued  at 400,000.00 


This  being  the  fund  provided,  by  way  of  offset, 
for  a  debt  of  about  $384,000    ....        $900,000.00 


204  MUNICIPAL  mSTOEY. 

There  were  circumstances  which  rendered  th  acceptance  of  the 
office  of  chief  engineer  by  Mr.  Harris  of  great  importance,  at 
the  first  organization  of  the  department.  He  was  a  man  of 
known  judgment  and  prudence  ;  of  tried  ess  ;  a  soldier  in 

spirit;  and,  as  far  as  the  events  of  his  life  had  permitted,  by- 
education.  He  distinguished  himself  as  a  cavalry  oificer,  in 
almost  every  battle  on  the  Canadian  frontier,  in  1814 ;  and  was 
generally  regarded  as  singularly  qualified  to  introduce  order  and 
subordination  into  the'  department.  The  state  of  his  health 
rendered  him,  at  first,  unwilling  to  accept  the  office,  as  it  would 
subject  him  to  great  exertion  and  exposure;  but  he  at  length 
yielded  to  the  solicitations  of  the  Mayor  and  City  CouncU. 
Soon  after  entering  upon  the  duties  of  the  office  of  chief  en- 
gineer, Mr.  Harris  requested  the  Mayor  not  to  bring  the  subject 
of  his  salary  before  the  City  Council ;  assigning  as  a  reason  for 
this  request  that,  having  the  command  of  a  department  consist- 
ing wholly  of  uncompensated  volunteers,  he  thought  his  useful- 
ness would  be  disadvantageously  affected  by  his  acceptance  of 
a  salary. 

Mr.  Harris  held  his  office  nearly  three  years ;  and  all  the  anti- 
cipations which  occasioned  his  appointment  were  realized.  A 
spirit,  in  every  respect  noble,  fearless,  and  disinterested,  charac- 
terized his  whole  conduct  at  the  head  of  the  department ;  and, 
as  he  never  asked,  he  never  received  any  compensation  fox  a  long 
series  of  invaluable  services. 

In  the  course  of  arrangements  attending  the  new  organization 
of  the  fire  department,  troubles  of  various  kinds  occm-red,  and 

In  addition  to  wtich,  the  Committee  rested  in  the  city,  free  of  expense,  six 
streets,  as  follows,  namely :  — 

FcGt  Feel 

1.  South  Market  Street,  of  the  7    ,^  '        ,        ,  .  .        ^,,  „,' 

■width  of     .        .        .  C    ^^^    ^^^  contammg    53,843 

2.  North  Market  Street      .         .         65  "  34,080 

3.  The  street  leading  from  Long) 

Wharf,  now  constituting  part  [-      65  «  30,100 

of  Commercial  Street  . ) 

4.  Clinton  Street        ...         40  "  20  490 

5.  The  Eoebuck   Passage,  now] 

part  of  Merchants' Kow,     .  j"      ^^  "  ^'^^O 

6.  Chatham  Street     ...        40  "  20  560 

64,193 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  205 

several  evidences  of  hostility  were  manifested.  One  engine 
company  refused  to  communicate  water  at  fires  with  another 
engine  company,  because  it  was  composed  of  minors,  though 
they  were  full  gi'own  and  of  sufficient  strength.  Another,  whose 
captain  had  been  dismissed  by  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  voted 
that,  notwithstanding  his  dismissal,  they  should  consider  him 
their  captain,  and,  as  such,  obey  his  orders.  In  both  cases,  the 
companies  were  dissolved,  the  engines  taken  from  them  and 
committed  to  new  companies,  which  were  immediately  formed. 
Two  of  the  city  engines  were  disabled,  in  the  night  time,  and 
their  hose  cut.  This  occurred  several  times  at  fires ;  and,  al- 
though a  reward  of  five  hundred  dollars  was  offered  for  detection 
of  the  offenders,  it  was  without  effect.  Other  dispositions  to 
embarrass  the  operations  of  the  new  department  were  mani- 
fested. All  the  arrangements  for  carrying  it  into  full  efficacy 
were  not  completed  untU  the  twenty-fourth  of  April  ensuing; 
when  the  Mayor  issued  his  proclamation,  declaring  the  fire  de- 
partment of  the  city  duly  organized,  and  that  it  would  go  into 
effect  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  that  month,  which  it  did  accord- 
ingly. 

Votes  of  thanks  were  passed  by  the  City  Council  to  those 
citizens  who  ha'd  volunteered  then-  services  to  take  the  engines 
when  they  were  thrown  up  by  the  old  companies ;  and  "  to  the 
members  of  the  late  Board  of  Firewards,  for  their  faithful,  active, 
and  disinterested  services  in  support  of  the  measures  for  organ- 
izing the  fire  department."  This  last  acknowledgment  was 
highly  deserved  by  the  old  firewards.  Notwithstanding  its  ne- 
cessary effect  was  to  put  an  end  to  the  existence  of  their  own 
board,  the  support  they  gave  to  the  new  department  was  uni- 
formly open  and  decided,  and  their  influence  largely  contributed 
to  its  ultimate  success. 

Owing  to  the  defective  state  of  the  old  engines,  the  great  de- 
ficiency of  hose,  the  necessity  of  fitting  up  all  the  engines  and 
engine  houses,  in  a  style  of  greater  neatness  and  convenience 
than  had  been  before  customary,  as  also,  the  constructing  of  reser- 
vou-s,  the  amount  of  expenditm-e  exceeded  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars. But  the  efficiency  manifested  by  the  department  was  so 
universally  felt  and  acknowledged,  that  the  call  for  adequate 
appropriations  was  met  by  the  City  Council  with  readiness,  and 
by  the  citizens  without  complaint.  To  check,  as  far  as  possible, 
18 


206  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

an  excess  of  expenditures,  to  which  a  department  involving  so 
many  and  such  a  diversity  of  claims  was  peculiarly  liable,  the 
Mayor  recommended,  and  the  City  Council  ordained,  that  they 
should  be  placed  under  the  special  superintendence  of  a  joint 
committee  of  the  City  Council,  without  whose  authority  no  ex- 
penditure exceeding  fifty  dollars  should  be  incuiTed.  By  the 
course  of  measures  above  specified,  a  spirit  of  zeal  and  activity 
was  infused  into  the  fire  department,  chiefly  resulting  from  the 
exertions,  judgment,  and  fidelity  of  the  chief  and  assistant  en- 
gineers, which  gradually  introduced  into  it  harmony  and  subor- 
dination, highly  honorable  to  them  and  satisfactory  to  the  citi- 
zens. 

In  April,  1826,  the  Rev.  Henry  Ware,  Jun.,  was  appointed 
the  city  orator  for  the  then  ensuing  fourth  of  July,  which  he 
accepted;  but  the  state  of  his  health  compelled  him,  on  the 
nineteenth  of  June,  to  decline  fulfilling  his  engagement.  The 
Committee  of  the  City  Council  appointed  on  this  communication 
reported,  that  "  an  invitation  should  be  given  to  the  Hon.  Josiah 
Quincy  to  pronounce  the  address  on  that  anniversary ;  that  the 
brief  period  now  allowed  for  preparation  seemed  to  preclude  the 
probability  of  any  of  the  younger  gentlemen  from  accepting  the 
delivery  of  the  address,  which,  with  the  singular  interest  attached 
to  the  fiftieth  anniversary,  rendered  it  peculiarly  proper  that  the 
appointment  should  be  made  of  a  citizen  who,  from  his  age, 
may  be  presumed  to  have  witnessed  some  of  the  events,  and  to 
have  imbibed  the  spirit  which  led  to  om"  Revolution.  Your 
Committee  befieve  that  the  zeal  and  interest  the  Mayor  is  known 
to  feel  and  manifest  in  every  thing  relating  to  the  city  wiU  in- 
duce him,  notwithstanding  his  multiplied  official  avocations,  to 
accept  this  appointment,  if  such  should  be  the  wish  of  the  City 
Council." 

A  resolution,  in  conformity  with  this  report,  was  passed  unani- 
mously by  both  branches. 

The  Mayor,  having  delivered  an  oration  on  the  same  occasion 
in  1798,  was  anxious  to  avoid  a  repetition  of  the  effort;  but 
finding  that  the  short  time  for  preparation,  —  the  remaining  days 
allowed,  —  was  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  every  citizen  solicited 
to  take  the  appointment,  he  deemed  it  his  official  duty,  and  ac- 
ceded to  the  request  of  the  City  Council.^- 

^  See  Appendix  L. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  207 

This  anniversary  was  rendered  memorable  by  the  death  of 
John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  both  of  whom  had  been 
signers,  on  that  day  fifty  years  before,  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence, and  both  having  filled  the  office  of  President  of  the 
United  States. 

On  the  fifth  of  July,  at  a  special  meeting  of  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen,  the  record  states :  "  This  Board,  having  received 
notice  of  the  afflictive  dispensation  of  Divine  Providence,  in  the 
death  of  the  Hon.  John  Adams,  formerly  President  of  the  United 
States,  on  the  fourth  of  July  instant,  thereupon. 

Resolved,  That  Aldermen  Bellows,  Marshall,  Welsh,  Oliver, 
and  Loring,  with  such  as  the  Common  Council  may  join,  be  a 
committee  to  consider  and  adopt  such  measures  as  they  may 
deem  expedient,  to  express  the  sense  of  the  eminent  worth  and 
public  services  of  the  deceased  entertained  by  the  citizens  of 
Boston,  in  common  with  their  fellow-citizens  of  the  United 
States;  and  also,  their  sorrow  at  this  bereavement,  which  has 
deprived  this  State  of  one  of  its  most  honored  and  cherished 
sons,  and  the  American  nation  of  a  most  eminent  patriot  and 
distinguished  statesman." 

The  Common  Council,  in  concurrence,  joined,  on  its  part, 
Messrs.  Curtis,  Grosvenor,  Gray,  Waters,  Lodge,  Hallet,  and 
Rice. 

This  Committee  reported :  "  That  it  would  be  proper  for  the 
Mayor  and  Aldermen  and  Common  Council,  accompanied  by 
their  Clerks  and  City  Marshal,  to  attend  the  funeral  of  their 
distinguished  feUow-citizen  at  Quincy;  that  the  bells  of  the 
city  should  be  tolled  on  that  day  from  four  to  five  o'clock ;  that 
it  be  recommended  to  the  masters  and  owners  of  the  vessels  in 
the  harbor,  to  cause  their  colors  to  be  hoisted  at  half  mast ;  and 
the  citizens  to  close  their  places  of  business  on  the  afternoon  of 
said  day,  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  the  deceased." 

On  the  tenth  of  July,  when  news  first  reached  the  city  of  the 
death  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  a  joint  committee,  of  which  Alder- 
man Bellows  was  Chairman,  was  raised  to  consider  what  mea- 
sm-es  were  proper  to  be  adopted  on  the  occasion.  This  Com- 
mittee reported  as  follows :  — 

"  The  Joint  Committee,  who  were  charged  to  consider  and  report  what  mea- 
sures it  would  be  proper  for  the  City  Council  to  adopt,  expressive  of  the  respect 
entertained  by  the  city  for  the  eminent  services  of  the  late  John  Adams  and 


208  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

Thomas  Jefferson,  have  the  honor  to  report,  that  they  view  the  almost  simulta- 
neous decease  of  these  distinguished  statesmen  as  a  dispensation  of  Divine  Pro- 
vidence, which  will  be  deejily  felt  by  the  whole  American  nation. 

"  That  tliese  venerable  champions  of  liberty  should  have  commenced  their 
political  career  at  the  same  time ;  should  have  sustained  the  same  important 
trusts  and  high  offices ;  should  have  each  contributed  so  essentially  to  the  achiev- 
ing of  our  independence  ;  should  have  lived  to  see  their  children's  children  realize 
the  blessings  of  that  independence  which,  fifty  years  before,  they  jointly  risked 
their  lives  to  secure  to  them ;  and  should  at  last  be  summoned,  on  the  same 
day,  and  almost  at  the  same  hour,  to  receive  the  reward  of  their  virtue  and 
patriotism,  constitute  a  coilicidence  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the 
world. 

"  That  either  of  these  ancient  men  should  have  been  spared  to  witness  hig 
nation's  jubilee,  was  not  to  be  expected  in  the  usual  course  of  human  events ; 
but  that  both  should  attain  to  that  felicitous  moment,  enjoying  such  a  degree  of 
health,  as  not  only  to  be  conscious  of  their  privilege,  but  to  f)articipate  in  the 
general  exultation  of  that  day,  is  an  event  which  seems  to  mark  the  hand  and 
special  jDresence  of  that  Being  by  whose  unerring  wisdom  we  are  governed,  and 
by  whose  beneficence  we  are  protected  and  sustained.  The  lives  of  these  great 
men  have  been  no  less  distinguished  than  their  deaths  are  remarkable ;  and 
your  Committee  are  of  opinion,  that  they  ought  to  be  commemorated  by  a  dis- 
course delivered  on  this  solemn  and  impressive  occasion  ;  and  they  have  reason  to 
believe  that,  if  it  Avas  known  to  be  the  wish  of  his  fellow-citizens,  an  individual, 
eminent  for  his  talents  and  j^ublic  services,  in  whom  the  confidence  and  pride  of 
this  city  are  justly  centred,  would  be  induced  to  undertake  the  performance  of 
this  honorable  but  delicate  trust. 

"  The  Committee,  therefore,  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following  reso- 
lutions :  — 

"  1.  Resolved,  That  it  is  due  to  the  eminent  patriotism  and  distinguished 
public  services  of  the  late  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  that  their  lives 
and  characters  should  be  commemorated  in  a  public  discourse. 

"  2.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  wish  of  the  City  Council,  that  this  discourse  should 
be  delivered  by  the  Hon.  Daniel  Webster ;  and  the  Mayor  is  hereby  author- 
ized and  requested  to  invite  that  gentleman,  in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of  the 
authorities  of  this  city,  to  pronounce  the  same,  as  early  as  his  convenience  will 
permit. 

"  3.  Resolved,  That  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  and  Common  Council  will  unite 
with  their  fellow-citizens  in  the  solemn  exercises  of  the  day  (to  be  appointed)  ; 
and  that  the  citizens  be  requested  to  close  their  several  places  of  business,  and 
masters  of  vessels  to  display  their  colors  at  half  mast,  during  the  movement  of 
the  procession  and  the  performance  of  the  exercises." 

This  report  was  accepted,  and  the  resolutions  adopted  unani- 
mously, in  both  branches ;  and  an  order  was  passed,  appointing 
the  Committee  who  reported  these  resolutions  to  make  the  neces- 
sary preparations  for  the  reception  of  the  audience  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  to  arrange  the  order  of  procession,  and  with  authority 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  209 

to  make  such  arrangements  as  they  shall  deem  suitable  and  pro- 
per for  the  occasion. 

Daniel  Webster  having  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  city 
authorities,  they,  with  distinguished  public  functionaries  in- 
vited on  the  occasion,  among  whom  were  the  President  of  the 
United  States  and  the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth,  the 
officers  of  various  public  institutions,  and  the  citizens  in  gene- 
ral, formed  a  procession,  on  the  second  of  August,  1826,  from 
the  State  House  to  Faneuil  Hall,  which  was  hung  and  carpeted 
with  black  and  appropriately  decorated,  where,  in  presence  of 
a  numerous  audience,  after  prayers  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lowell,  Mr. 
Webster  delivered  an  eloquent  discourse  on  the  character  and 
services  of  John  Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson. 

The  bells  of  the  city  were  tolled;  minute  guns  fired;  the 
shipping  lowered  their  flags  to  half-mast ;  the  stores  were  closed ; 
business  suspended ;  and  no  demonstration  of  respect  was  omit- 
ted. 


18^ 


CHAPTER   XV. 

CITY  GOVERNMENT.    1827. 

JosiAH  QumcY,  Mayor.^ 

General  Relations  of  tlie  City  —  Views  concerning  the  City  Debt  —  The  Loca- 
tion of  a  City  HaU  —  The  Responsibility  for  the  Correctness  of  the  Voting 
Lists  —  General  State  of  the  Schools  —  Proceedings  of  the  City  Council  in 
Relation  to  them —  School  Committee  object  to  their  Interference,  and  claim 
Independence  —  Opening  of  the  Hancock  School  —  High  School  for  Girls 
estabUshed  as  an  Experiment  —  Its  Result  —  The  School  discontinued,  and 
the  Privileges  of  Females  in  the  Common  Schools  extended  —  The  Relation 
of  the  Mayor  to  the  School  Committee. 

The  Mayor,  in  his  inaugural  address,^  stated  the  general  rela- 
tions of  the  city ;  its  increasing  population ;  the  advance  of  its 
improvements  ;  and  the  indications  given  of  the  satisfaction  of 
the  citizens  with  the  general  conduct  of  their  affairs.  Since  the 
government  had  been  changed  from  a  town  to  a  city,  its  debt  had 
been  increased,  in  round  numbers,  from  one  hundred  thousand 
to  one  million  of  dollars.  The  wisdom  and  fidelity  of  the  public 
agents  who  incurred  this  debt  must  be  tested  by  the  permanent 
and  important  character  of  the  objects  attained  by  its  creation. 
These  were  the  acquisition  of  the  lands  west  of  Charles  Street, 
and  the  property  vested  in  the  city  by  the  Committee  for  the 
extension  of  Faneml  HaU  Market.  The  value  of  the  property 
thus  acquired  was  equivalent  to  the  discharge  of  the  whole  of 
the  then  existing  city  debt,  besides  adding  a  large  sm-plus  to 
its  revenues.  Nearly  half  a  million  of  dollars  had  been  expended 
during  the  same  period  in  improvements  of  a  permanent  and 
prospective  usefulness,  having  a  direct  influence  on  the  future 
convenience  and  prosperity  of  the  city.    No  public  debt  could  be 

1  The  whole  number  of  votes  were  2629  ;  of  which  the  Mayor  had  2189. 
The  Aldermen  were  James  Savage,  Thomas  Kendall,  Phineas  Upham,  John 

T.  Loring,  Robert  Fennelly,  John  Pickering,  James  Hall,  Samuel  T,  Arm- 
strong. 

2  See  Appendix,  F. 


i 


CITY  GOVERKMENT.  211 

justified  on  sti'oiiger  grounds  than  that  which  the  city  govern- 
ment, with  a  fearless  and  independent  spnit,  and  in  a  just  con- 
fidence in  the  judgment  and  intelligence  of  their  fellow-citizens, 
had  incurred.  Their  arrangements  had  abeady  lessened  to  a 
comparatively  narrow  sphere  the  necessity  of  future  expendi- 
tures ;  and  the  remaining  duty  was  to  finish  the  improvements, 
to  correct  existing  establishments,  and  to  apply  the  means  in 
their  possession  to  the  gi'adual  extinction  of  the  city  debt.  To 
this  object,  the  Mayor  recommended  the  specific  appropriation 
of  the  whole  property  and  its  incomes,  transferred  to  the  city 
by  the  Committee  for  the  extension  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market ;  it 
being,  in  his  judgment,  not  proper  to  consider  property,  thus 
obtained,  as  a  subject  of  complete  ownership,  until  the  debt  for 
which  it  was  incurred  is  paid.  For  this  pm'pose,  he  recom- 
mended that  those  funds  should  be  placed  under  the  supervision 
of  commissioners,  composed  of  public  officers,  ex  officio^  ap- 
pointed by  the   City  Council. 

The  erection  of  a  new  court  house  and  a  city  hall  were,  at  this 
time,  subjects  of  discussion  and  controversy.  The  Mayor,  deem- 
ing it  gi'eatly  for  the  interest  of  the  city,  that  the  intercourse 
between  the  departments  should  be  convenient  and  easy,  recom- 
mended Faneuil  Hall  as  the  most  suitable  location  for  their 
accommodation.  His  views,  were,  however,  at  variance  with 
interests,  opinions,  and  views  of  citizens,  in  different  parts  of  the 
city,  and  resulted  in  a  still  further  postponement  of  the  concen- 
tration of  the  city  offices  in  one  building. 

At  this  period,  great  complaints  existed  on  the  subject  of 
the  voting  lists ;  and  the  question  was  agitated  with  some 
warmth, — whether  the  responsibility  for  their  correctness  rested, 
as  it  did  under  the  town  government,  on  the  Assessors ;  or  whe- 
ther it  was  not  devolved  upon  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  by  the 
terms  of  the  city  charter.  The  discussion  ultimately  resulted  in 
the'  opinion,  that  the  labor  of  making  out  the  voting  lists,  of 
comparing  them  with  then-  books,  and  certifying  their  correctness, 
were  the  duties  of  the  Assessors ;  but  that  the  Mayor  and  Alder- 
men were  responsible  for  the  time,  form,  and  manner  in  which  it 
should  be  done.  Li  conformity  with  this  result,  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  constituted  the  Mayor  a  sub-committee,  to  superintend 
the  making  out  the  voting  lists ;  to  resort,  in  cases  of  difficulty 
for  advisement  to  the  whole  Board ;  it  appearing  to  them,  that 


2]  2  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

the  duty  of  general  superintendence  and  direction,  and  the  exer- 
cise of  a  sound  judgment,  concerning  all  the  great  municipal 
relations  of  the  city,  particularly  those  which  immediately  af- 
fected the  elective  franchise,  was  devolved  on  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen,  by  the  express  terms  of  the  city  charter. 

For  three  years  after  the  organization  of  the  city  government, 
no  important  addition  was  made  to  the  number  or  expenses  of 
the  public  schools,  except  the  erection  of  the  Hancock  School, 
under  the  administration  of  Mr.  PhilHps,  and  its  completion 
under  his  successor.  '  By  a  report  of  the  School  Committee, 
made  in  October,  1822,  it  appears  that  "  the  general  state  of  the 
schools  was  satisfactory ; "  but  regret  was  expressed,  that  "  many 
parents  were  indifferent  as  to  sending  their  children  to  school ; " 
"  and  that,  with  regard  to  regularity  of  attendance,"  the  negli- 
gence of  both  parents  and  children  was  excessive. 

In  the  last  year  of  the  town  government,  (July,  1821,)  a 
school  for  mutual  instruction  had  been  established  by  the  votes 
of  the  inhabitants.  In  August,  1822,  on  the  petition  of  several 
citizens,  stating  that  "the  experiment  had  succeeded  admirably;" 
and  that,  in  their  opinion,  more  intellectual  activity,  a  greater 
degree  of  interest  in  studies,  of  readiness  in  learning,  and  of 
punctuality,  may  be  produced  under  that  than  under  the  prevail- 
ing system  ;  that  the  expense  would  be  less ;  the  present  cost  for 
the  instruction  of  each  scholar  being  twelve  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
per  annum,  while  that  proposed  would  be  less  than  four  dol- 
lars,—  the  School  Committee  voted  that  the  Hancock  School 
should,  until  otherwise  ordered,  be  appropriated  to  give  the  sys- 
tem a  fair  trial. 

These  proceedings  were  not  acceptable  to  the  City  Council, 
who,  on  the  twenty-first  of  October,  1822,  voted,  that  "  it  was 
not  expedient  to  make  the  alterations  in  the  Hancock  School 
contemplated  by  the  School  Committee."  This  vote,  and  also 
an  order,  passed  by  the  City  Council,  in  May  preceding,  "  author- 
izing the  School  Committee  to  elect  instructors  for  the  public 
schools,  to  remove  them,  and  fix  their  salaries,"  were  regarded 
by  the  School  Committee  as  "  an  interference  with  powers  dele- 
gated to  them  by  the  citizens ;"  and,  on  the  twenty -first  of  No- 
vember, 1822,  a  sub-committee  of  that  body,  in  a  labored  report, 
maintained  that,  by  force  of  the  nineteenth  section  of  the  city 
charter,  the  care  and  superintendence  of  the  public  schools  were 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  213 

vested  in  the  School  Committee ;  that  the  power  thus  gi-anted 
ought  to  have  a  reasonable  construction,  implying  incidental 
powers,  to  make  such  superintendence  effectual,  —  such  as  ap- 
pointment and  removal  of  masters,  fixing  their  salaries,  selection 
of  books,  and  regulating  the  studies  of  the  schools ;  that  the 
exclusive  right  to  make  appropriations  of  public  moneys,  pos- 
sessed by  the  City  Council,  was  the  proper  and  only  check  held 
by  that  body  over  the  proceedings  of  the  School  Committee,  and 
was  applicable  only  to  extreme  cases,  and  not  involving  the 
power  of  making  their  proceedings  nugatory;  they  not  being 
the  agents  of  the  City  Council,  but  a  distinct  and  independent 
body,  deriving  their  powers,  delegated  to  them  by  the  citizens, 
under  the  provisions  of  the  city  charter. 

These  proceedings  were  the  chief  measures  of  a  general  cha- 
racter adopted  on  this  subject  by  the  city  government.  During 
these  two  years,  no  material  alteration  took  place  in  the  condi- 
tion or  system  of  the  schools.  Some  complaints  were,  indeed, 
at  that  time  made,  by  parents  against  masters,  for  undue  seve- 
rity to  their  children  ;  and  by  masters  against  parents,  for  indulg- 
ing their  children  in  want  of  punctuality,  or  for  keeping  them 
from  school  in  their  private  service.  There  were  other  practices, 
and  some  disposition  thought  to  be  evidenced  to  keep  men,  who 
were  deemed  unqualified,  in  office.  And,  in  June,  1823,  on  the 
first  opening  to  the  pubfic  of  the  Hancock  School,  the  Mayor, 
at  the  request  of  the  School  Committee,  delivered,  and  subse- 
quently, also,  at  their  request,  pubfished  an  address,  from  which 
extracts,  relative  to  topics  of  permanent  interest  and  frequent 
recurrence,  and  deeply  affecting  the  success  of  the  schools,  are 
here  inserted,  as  follows :  — 

There  are  two  mistakes  into  whicli  parents  are  cliiefly  apt  to  fall  in  this  con- 
nection. First,  —  they  are  too  ready  to  imagine,  that  school  education  and 
discipline  can  supply  the  want  of  discipline  and  instruction  at  home  ;  and  they 
often  throw  blame  upon  the  masters  which,  in  justice,  belongs  to  themselves. 
If,  therefore,  the  child  of  any  parent  returns  from  school  shamed  or  corrected ; 
if  he  make  little  or  no  improvement ;  or  if  the  tendency  of  his  temper  be  way- 
ward or  vicious ;  before  blaming  the  master,  or  finding  fault  with  the  discipline 
of  the  school,  let  such  discontented  parent  set  himself  seriously  to  inquire  into  the 
manner  in  which  he  himself  has,  in  past  life,  performed,  or  how  he  is,  at  the  pre- 
sent time,  performing  his  duties  to  his  child;  what  principles  he  has  inculcated; 
what  habits  he  has  permitted ;  what  example  he  has  set.  School  education  can 
do  but  little  without  domestic  discipUne  and  example.     The  father,  and  mother, 


214  MUXICrPAL  mSTOET. 

form  and  influence,  more  than  any  masters,  the  characters  of  children. 
Let  no  parent,  then,  listen  hastily  to  complaints,  unless  he  is  himself  conscious 
of  being  guiltless  of  having  given  any  countenance  or  encouragement  to  that 
conduct  which  he  condemns,  and  which  masters,  in  their  fidelity-,  must  punish. 

A  second  mistake  of  parents,  affecting  these  institutions,  is.  —  that  they  are 
apt  to  imagine,  because  schools  ai-e  pro\-ided  by  the  public,  it  is  the  right  of  indi- 
viduals, and  of  themselves  as  weU  as  of  others,  to  use  or  neglect  them  at  plea- 
sure, according  as  anv  whim,  caprice,  temporary  interest,  or  convenience  may 
dictate. 

The  consequence  is.  that  they  send  children  to  school  only  occasionally,  when 
thev  please,  or  at  what  tinie  they  please,  without  any  regard  to  the  order  and 
regulations  of  the  school,  or  the  interest  of  their  child. 

Xow,  the  usefulness  of  all  schools,  in  a  great  degree,  depends  upon  strict 
habits  of  punctuality  and  order :  and  on  regularity  in  the  master's  performance 
of  his  established  routine  of  duties.  Xow,  no  master  can  thus  perform  his  duties, 
if  children  are  permitted  by  parents  to  loiter  on  their  way,  or  delay,  or  neglect 
going  to  school ;  or  if  they  are  kept  after  school  hours  engaged  in  work,  or  on 
errands,  and  thus,  by  coming  late,  break  in  upon  the  regularity  of  the  school. 

The  rights  of  parents  are.  in  this  respect,  precisely  Hke  aiyi  parallel  with  all 
the  other  i-ights  of  civil  life.  So  use  your  own  rights,  as  not  to  injure  the 
rights  of  others  ;  above  aU,  so  use  them  as  not  to  injure  the  general  interest.  It 
is  the  duty  of  masters  to  exact  pimctualitA-  of  attendance  fi-om  their  scholars ; 
and  for  this  purpose,  as  a  chief  mear.s,  to  be  most  minute  and  critical  in  their 
own  punctuality.  And  as  to  those  parents,  who  will  not  submit  to  a  principle 
so  essential  to  the  success  of  this  great  interest  of  the  repubUc.  they  must  not 
complain,  should  those  who  have  the  care  of  that  interest  exclude  altogether 
from  the  enjoyment  of  these  privileges  those  dehnquents  who,  by  such  injurious 
neglect,  show  they  are  unworthy  to  possess  them. 

The  relation  of  master  and  usher  is  still  more  important  and  critical  to  these 
institutions.  Their  duties  are,  aU  of  them,  of  a  nature  so  simple  and  obvious, 
that  to  allude  to  them  would  imply  a  possibiUti-  of  ignorance,  or  deficiency, 
which  ought  not  to  be  admitted,  even  by  way  of  suppcsition. 

There  are  duties,  however,  resulting  from  their  relation  to  one  another  and  to 
this  Board,  on  which  it  may  be  useful  to  touch ;  and  the  rather,  because  diffi- 
culties have  heretofore  arisen  from  misapprehensions  on  those  subjects. 

The  relation,  then,  of  the  master  and  usher,  of  the  same  school,  ought  to  be 
understood  to  be,  in  the  nature  of  things,  a  relation  of  subordination,  and  not  of 
equahty.  It  is  one  of  the  chief  duties  of  him  who  is  second,  to  support  and 
strengthen  the  hands  of  him  who  is  first :  and,  for  this  purpose,  to  study  on  all 
occasions  to  elevate  his  character,  to  extend  his  influence,  to  facilitate  his  labors, 
and  promote  his  respectability-,  both  in  school  and  in  the  world.  There  is  no 
surer  mark  of  unworthiness  for  a  higher  station,  than  an  unwiUingness  to  submit 
to  the  requisitions,  or  to  }-ield  the  deference,  which  is  due  from  a  lower.  All 
espionage,  all  disputes  of  authority-,  all  petty  cavils,  of  the  inferior  in  relation  to 
the  superior,  are  to  be  avoided :  being  assured  that  such  conduct  can  receive  no 
countenance  from  this  Board ;  with  the  certainty-  that,  though  its  effect  may  be 
to  injure  him  whom  it  affects,  that  it  cannot  fail  to  disgrace  him  who  condescends 
to  the  practice. 


CITY  go^t:rxmext.  215 

This  principle,  however,  must  not  be  understood  to  extend  to  the  concealment 
of  any  notorious  vice  or  fault  in  the  masters,  or  to  any  open  or  habitual  riolation 
in  him  of  the  rules  established  for  the  government  of  the  school  by  the  School 
Committee.  Failure  openly  to  represent  this  to  the  proper  authority,  is  a  failure 
in  duty,  for  which  the  usher  is,  and  will  be,  considered  responsible. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  dutj-  of  the  master  towards  the  usher  is  not  less  plain 
and  imperious.  In  the  order  of  things,  he  is,  indeed,  superior ;  but  then,  he 
should  always  remember  that  it  is  only  superiority-  of  station,  which  does  not 
necessarily  imply  individual  superiority.  The  relation  in  which  masters  and 
ushers  stand  to  each  other  is  that  of  gentlemen ;  of  men  under  joint  obligations 
to  promote  the  interests  of  the  school,  and  the  improvement  of  the  scholars  :  and 
the  great  study  of  both  should  be,  so  to  cooperate  in  their  labors,  as  mutually  to 
aid  each  other  in  effecting  this  joint  object. 

From  both  instructors,  the  public  have  a  right  to  expect,  and  it  will  be  the 
endeavor  of  the  present  School  Committee  to  enforce,  punctuality,  exclusive 
devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  school,  and  strict  obedience  to  the  rules  established 
for  its  government. 

The  habit  of  punctuality,  instructors  shotild  consider  as  a  primary  and  essen- 
tial dut^-.  They  should  be.  by  system,  as  true  to  the  fixed  time  of  opening  and 
closing  their  school  as  the  shadow  of  the  st^ie  is  true  to  the  sim  diaL 

So,  also,  with  respect  to  an  exclusive  devotedness  to  the  interests  of  the 
school.  It  may  be  questioned  whether  either,  —  and  certainly,  whether  the 
principal  instructor.  —  ought  to  be  permitted  to  engage  in  any  other  business  or 
emplo^Tnent,  the  object  of  which  is  pecuniary  emolument.  But  it  cannot  be 
questioned,  that  neither  of  them  ought  to  be  permitted  to  carry  any  engagement 
or  other  pursuit  into  school  hours.  The  whole  of  the  prescribed  time  belongs 
to  the  public.  Dm-ing  its  continuance,  instructors  have  no  right  to  do  any  thing 
else,  or  think  of  any  thing  else.  TThatever  part  of  the  time  is  not  occupied  in 
instruction,  is  sufficiently  well  employed  in  superintendence  of  oixler  and  de- 
corum. 

Lastly,  gentlemen  of  the  School  Committee,  in  this  reference  to  the  duties 
of  others,  which  I  have  thus  made,  at  your  suggestion,  you  will  permit  me,  also, 
to  notice  some  which  belong  to  ourselves.  In  the  organization  of  this  Commit- 
tee, distinguished  men,  drawn  for  the  most  part  from  the  learned  professions,  are 
added  to  the  higher  branches  of  the  city  authorities.  It  must  generally  be  ex- 
pected, that  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  will  be  men  of  busines.  rather  than  of 
science,  and  better  acquainted  with  the  rules  and  measures  of  active  life,  than  with 
those  of  schools  and  seminaries  of  learning.  This  part  of  the  Committee  have, 
therefore,  a  natural  right  to  look  to  the  superadded  members  for  advice,  direc- 
tion, and  for  a  vigilant  and  active  superintendence,  in  this  particular  department. 
And  while  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  will  extend  to  this  great  concern  all  the 
pi-otection  which  the  extensive  nature  of  their  other  duties  will  permit,  it  is  to 
the  members  of  the  Committtee.  who  do  not  belong  to  this  Board,  that  the  city 
authorities  have  a  right  to  look  for  a  severe  and  scrutinizing  investigation  of  the 
state  of  the  schools,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  mastei"s  and  ushers,  as  well  as 
parents  and  children,  tiiltil  their  respective  obligations. 

The  great  difficulty  with  which  we  have  to  contend  is  that  disposition  which 
is  innate  in  all,  to  avoid  painful  responsibilities,  when  the  exercise  of  authority 


216  MUNICIPAL  fflSTOKY. 

affects  particularlj  and  directly  the  hopes  and  prospects  of  an  individual,  and 
only  generally  and  remotely  the  interests  of  the  community.  But,  gentlemen, 
in  assuming  this  office,  we  have  undertaken  a  duty  for  which  we  are  responsible, 
not  only  to  our  country,  but  to  Heaven.  If  men  obviously  weak,  or  inefficient, 
or  inadequate,  are  maintained  in  office,  merely  through  reluctance  to  exercise 
power  which  our  station  devolves  upon  us,  and  which,  by  accepting  the  trust, 
we  have  solemnly  engaged  to  fulfil,  I  need  not  explain  to  wise,  honorable,  and 
thoughtful  men  the  nature  and  consequences  of  such  failure,  to  fulfil  an  important 
and  voluntarily  incurred  obligation.  This  city  has  a  right  to  have  efficient  and 
capa;ble  men  in  all  its  departments ;  especially  in  its  schools.  The  worst  of  all 
chaiities  is  that  which  supports  imbecility  in  official  station,  merely  from  reluct- 
ance at  depriving  it  of  official  emoluments.  And,  however  this  may  be  pardon- 
able in  relation  to  offices  affecting  only  personal  or  local  interests,  it  is,  in  rela- 
tion to  such  as  are  of  the  nature  of  pubHc  instructors,  litde  less  than  criminal. 

I  repeat  'it,  this  city  has  a  right  to  have,  in  every  department  of  this  great 
concern,  none  but  adequate  men.  The  liberality  for  which  the  inhabitants  of 
Boston  have  been  distinguished  towards  public  instructors,  in  all  times,  has 
afforded  this  Committee  the  means  and  the  power  of  selecting  the  best,  and  of 
excluding  the  bad  or  the  indifferent  from  those  offices.  If,  through  our  weak- 
ness, carelessness,  or  fear,  the  rising  generation  in  any  school  district  be  dealt 
by  unfairly,  and  do  not  reap  its  equal  share  of  the  advantages  which  this  city, 
by  the  liberality  of  its  public  provisions,  endeavors  to  secure  to  all  its  citizens, 
the  fault  and  the  shame  wiU  lie  upon  those  who,  being  intrusted  with  the  power, 
and  having  accepted  of  it,  shrink  from  their  duty,  under  the  influence  of  a  false 
and  mischievous  sympathy. 

Early  in  the  year  1825,  the  School  Committee  accepted  a 
report  of  one  of  their  sub-committees,  recommending  an.  esta- 
blishment of  a  high  school  for  girls,  and  an  application  to  the 
City  Council  for  an  appropriation  for  that  object.  The  plan  pro- 
posed was,  that  girls  who  were  qualified  should  be  admitted 
when  eleven,  and  not  more  than  fifteen  years  of  age ;  and  that 
the  course  of  studies  should  occupy  three  years,  and  embrace  all 
the  branches  of  education  usually  taught  in  colleges,  except  Greek 
and  Latin.  There  being  at  that  time  a  very  general  desire  in 
the  School  Committee  to  test  the  usefulness  of  monitorial  or 
mutual  instruction,  it  was  proposed  that  the  school  should  be 
conducted  upon  that  system;  and,  in  respect  of  expense,  the 
report  supposed  that  one  larg-e  room  would  be  sufficient,  at  least 
for  the  first  year. 

The  adoption  of  the  report  was  pressed  with  great  earnestness 
by  several  members  of  the  School  Committee,  and  the  success 
of  the  High  School  for  Boys,  was  urged  as  conclusive  in  favor  of 
a  similar  school  for  girls.     The  High  School  for  Boys  had  been 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  217 

in  operation  five  years,  and  no  additional  school  for  them  was 
required  or  anticipated.  The  applicants  for  admission  to  it  had 
never  exceeded  ninety  ;  the  greatest  number  ever  admitted  to  it 
in  one  year  ivas  eighty-four;  and,  at  that  time,  the  number  was 
only  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FORTY-SIX.  The  number,  also,  in  the 
High  School  for  Boys  regularly  diminished  every  successive  year, 
as  parents  found  places  for  their  sons,  as  apprentices  and  in  count- 
ing-houses ;  so  that  the  greatest  number  of  those  who  continued 
through  their  whole  course  was  seventeen;  and  they  belonged 
to  a  class  consisting  originally  of  seventy  members.  Those 
members  of  the  Committee,  howeverj  who  considered  the  difier- 
ence  between  the  occupation  and  preparation  for  active  life,  of 
girls  and  boys,  between  the  ages  of  eleven  and  fifteen  years, 
doubted  if  the  result  of  the  High  School  for  Boys  was  a  criterion 
to  be  relied  upon  for  a  high  school  for  girls.  It  was  certain  that 
the  inevitable  effect  of  this  school  would  be  to  attract  from  the 
common  schools  all  the  most  ambitious  and  intellectual  scholars, 
and  of  consequence  deprive  those  schools  of  the  girls  best  quali- 
fied by  attainment  and  example  to  excite  the  spirit  of  emulation, 
to  raise  their  standard,  and  to  take,  in  them,  the  place  of  moni- 
tors. Apprehensions  of  this  kind  added  force  to  the  doubts  con- 
cerning the  expediency  of  establishing  it. 

There  existed,  at  this  time,  a  general  opinion  in  favor  of  ex- 
tending and  enlarging  the  advantages  enjoyed  by  females  in  the 
public  schools.  The  project  was  therefore  in  unison  with  this 
prevailing  desire,  and  popular  with  parents  whose  daughters 
were  of  an  age  to  take  advantage  of  it,  and  the  appropriation 
of  two  thousand  dollars,  recommended  by  the  School  Commit- 
tee, was  granted  by  the  City  Council  with  great  unanimity. 
The  anticipations  of  difficulty  were,  however,  so  sti'ong  and 
plausible,  that  it  was  adopted  expressly  "  as  an  experiment ; " 
"  if  favorable,  to  be  continued,  if  adverse,  to  be  dropped  of  course." 
With  this  understanding,  the  project  being  sanctioned  by  the 
City  Council,  the  twenty-second  of  February,  1826,  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  School  Committee  for  the  examination  of  candi- 
dates for  admission  into  the  High  School  for  Girls ;  the  largest 
and  most  commodious  room  owned  by  the  city  having  been 
assigned  for  it,  and  fitted  up,  at  a  considerable  expense,  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  Committee. 

But  before  this  examination  occurred,  it  became  apparent  that 
19 


218  MUNICIPAL  HISTOKY. 

the  result  of  a  High  School  for  Girls  would  be  very  different 
from  that  of  the  High  School  for  Boys ;  and  that,  if  continued 
upon  the  scale  of  time  and  studies  the  original  project  embraced, 
the  expense  would  be  insupportable,  and  the  effect  upon  the 
Grammar  or  Common  Schools  positively  injurious. 

Instead  of  ninety  candidates,  —  the  highest  number  that  had 
ever  offered  in  one  year  for  the  school  for  boys,  —  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  nearly  three  hundred  would  be  presented  for  the  High 
School  for  Girls.  The.  spacious  room  provided  for  the  school 
would  not  accommodate  more  than  one  hundred  and  tiuenty ; 
and  it  was  evident  that,  either  two  high  schools  for  girls  must 
be  established  the  first  year,  or  that  more  than  one  half  of  the 
candidates  must  be  rejected,  to  the  great  disappointment  of 
then-  parents  and  instructors. 

Li  this  dilemma,  a  special  meeting  of  the  School  Committee 
was  called,  on  the  twenty-first  of  February,  the  day  previous  to 
that  appointed  for  the  examination ;  and,  after  much  deliberation 
on  the  course  to  be  pm'sued,  they  resolved  to  keep  the  number 
to  be  admitted  under  their  own  control;  and  for  this  purpose 
passed  a  vote,  that  the  Sub- Committee,  appointed  as  examiners, 
should  report  to  the  School  Committee  "  the  names,  ages,  and 
standing  of  all  the  candidates  they  should  find  qualified  for  admis- 
sion, that  THIS  COMMITTEE  MAY  DETERMINE  WHAT  CLASSES  OF 
THEM    SHALL    BE    ADMITTED." 

Under  the  influence  of  this  vote,  the  examination  was  accord- 
ingly conducted.  Two  hundred  and  eighty-six  candidates  pre- 
sented themselves  for  examination.  And,  on  the  twenty-eighth 
of  February,  the  Sub- Committee  of  Examiners,  from  motives 
of  prudence,  did  not  report  to  the  School  Committee  the  names  of 
those  they  found  duly  qualified,  but  only  the  ages  of  each  candidate, 
with  a  table  of  the  marks,  from  one  to  twenty,  put  opposite  each, 
under  each  head  of  examination,  and  the  general  result ;  and,  to 
bring  the  admission  of  applicants  within  the  extent  of  the  ac- 
commodations which  had  been  provided,  they  recommended  that 
the  School  Committee  ^'■should  strike  from  the  list  of  applicants  all 
between  eleven  and  tivelve  years  of  age;  and  that,  of  the  remainder, 
all  who  had  received  the  numbers  of  thirteen  and  a  half  and  up- 
tvards,  should  be  admitted  as  members  of  the  schoolP 

The  School  Committee  adopted  the  course  suggested  by  the 
Sub-Committee  of  Examiners,  and  regulated  their  admission 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  219 

of  candidates  by  the  principles  they  recommended.  The  conse- 
quence was  that,  of  the  tivo  hundred  and  eig-ldij-six  candidates, 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty  were  admitted,  and  one  hundred  and 
ffty  rejected.  Parents,  friends,  and  instructors  of  these  unsvic- 
cessful  candidates  regarded  these  proceedings  as  unjust,  and  the 
rule  of  selection  as  arbitrary.  Complaints  of  favoritism  were 
not  uncommon,  —  the  natural  consequence  of  extreme  disap- 
pointment. The  course,  however,  pursued  by  the  School  Com- 
mittee was  unquestionably  the  best  the  circumstances  in  which 
they  found  themselves  placed  permitted.  This  feeling  of  dis- 
content was  not,  however,  generally  allayed,  although,  from  par- 
ticular considerations,  the  vote  for  striking  out  all  between  eleven 
and  twelve  years  of  age  from  the  list  of  applicants  was  subse- 
quently rescinded,  and  seven  candidates  between  those  years 
were  admitted. 

Notwithstanding  the  number  of  candidates  offered  far  exceeded 
all  anticipation,  the  High  School  for  Girls  was  put  into  opera- 
tion under  very  favorable  auspices.  The  master  was  talented, 
earnest,  and  assiduous;  and  members  of  the  Committee,  some 
of  whom  had  daughters  enjoying  its  advantages,  superintended 
its  course  with  marked  and  critical  interest.  The  girls  who  were 
admitted  were  the  elite  of  the  Grammar  Schools,  and  were 
among  the  most  ambitious  and  highly  educated  of  them  and  of 
private  schools,  from  which  a  majority  of  those  admitted  were 
derived.  It  was  impossible  that  a  school  thus  conducted,  super- 
intended, and  composed,  should  not  be  highly  adv^antageous  to 
the  few  individuals  who  enjoyed  its  benefits ;  and  its  success 
was  a  subject  of  congratulation  among  their  parents. 

In  August,  1826,  a  report  was  made  to  the  School  Commit- 
tee, setting  forth  the  necessity  of  a  further  provision  for  its  sup- 
port, enlargement,  and  accommodation ;  and  stating,  by  way  of 
information,  the  following  facts  :  —  "  That  the  present  number  of 
the  school  was  one  hundred  and  thirty ;  that  few,  if  any,  coidd  be 
excluded  the  present  year;  that,  according-  to  the  best  calculations 
that  could  be  made,  the  number  of  the  candidates  for  admission  at 
the  then  next  ensuing  examination,  ivould  be  four  hundred  and 
tiventy-seven,  icho,  if  they  were  all  admitted,  and  those  noiv  in  the 
school  retained,  it  ivould  be  necessary  that  five  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  members  of  it  should  be  provided  for.^'  The  Sub- Commit- 
tee, however,  suggested  that,  probably,  not  more  than  two  hun- 


220  MUNICIPAL   HISTORY. 

dred  would  be  found  qualified ;  a  suggestion  unsupported  by  any 
data. 

This  report  unavoidably  brought  under  the  consideration  pro- 
bably of  every  member  of  the  School  Committee,  and  of  the 
city  government,  the  practicability  of  a  system  of  schools,  in- 
cluding such  an  extent  of  time  and  course  of  studies  as  the  plan 
of  this  school  originally  embraced.  It  was  obvious  that  the 
result  of  the  High  School  for  Boys  was  no  criterion  by  which  to 
estimate  that  for  girls,  who  were  not  compelled  to  prepare  for 
active  life  between  the  ages  of  eleven  and  sixteen,  and  to  whom 
a  high  classical  education  was  extremely  attractive ;  and,  being 
confined  to  the  best  scholars  in  all  the  schools,  private  as  well  as 
public,  by  its  select  and  necessarily  exclusive  character,  obviated 
the  objections  of  many  parents  to  public  schools.  The  effect  of 
this  circumstance  was  apparent  in  this  "  experiment."  Of  the 
number  admitted  into  it,  sixty-tivo  were  from  private  schools, 
and  only  fifty-nine  from  the  public.  And  it  was  ascertained, 
that  if  the  school  should  be  maintained  upon  the  extensive  plan 
of  time  and  studies  embraced  in  the  original  project,  that  there 
would  be  a  far  greater  influx  into  it  from  the  private  schools. 
Those,  therefore,  whose  property  enabled  them  to  educate  their 
children  at  private  schools,  would  occupy  the  greatest  proportion 
and  receive  the  chief  benefit  from  the  High  School  for  Girls. 
No  circumstance  could  show  more  efiectually  that  the  school 
was  chiefly  for  the  advantage  of  the  few^  and.  not  of  the  many  ; 
and  those,  also,  the  prosperous  few.  Again,  this  first  experiment 
showed,  in  another  respect,  the  entire  difference  in  result  of  the 
school  for  girls  and  of  that  for  boys.  In  the  latter  school,  as  has 
been  already  stated,^  the  number  of  scholars  regularly  diminished 
every  year,  so  that  the  far  greater  proportion  of  those  who  entered 
it  quitted  before  the  expiration  of  the  three  years;  whereas, 
of  all  those  who  entered  this  High  School  for  Girls,  not  one, 
during  the  eighteen  months  it  was  in  operation,  voluntarily  quit- 
ted it ;  and  there  was  no  reason  for  befieving  that  any  one  ad- 
mitted to  the  school  would  voluntarily  quit  it  for  the  whole  three 
years,  except  in  case  of  marriage.  It  was  ascertained  that  the 
whole  number  of  girls,  between  eleven  and  fifteen  years  of  age, 
then  in  the  Grammar  and  High  Schools  was  about  seven  hun- 

1  See  page  217, 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  221 

drecl;  and  that  in  the  private  schools  the  number  was  greater. 
Of  consequence,  there  would  be  a  great  total,  of  at  least, /o7/r- 
teen  hundred  girls  every  year ;  the  number,  also,  increasing  with 
the  population,  to  whom  the  benefit  of  this  collegiate  course  was 
annually  to  be  proffered ;  and,  considering  the  uncommon  and 
desirable  privileges  thus  offered,  it  was  probable  that  at  least  one 
third  would  qualify  themselves  for  the  benefit,  and  that  not  one 
of  those,  once  admitted,  would  quit  the  school  for  three  years. 
It  was  evident,  therefore,  that  at  least  two  High  Schools  for 
Girls  must  at  once  be  established ;  and  that,  if  the  whole  num- 
ber of  anticipated  applicants  should  be  admitted,  that  three  such 
schools  would  be  required,  with  a  prospective  certainty  of  the 
increase  of  this  number  every  year.  It  was  apparent  to  all  who 
contemplated  the  subject  disinterestedly,  that  the  continuance  of 
this  school  would  involve  an  amount  of  expenses  unprecedented 
and  unnecessary ;  since  the  same  course  of  instruction  could  be 
introduced  into  the  Grammar  Schools,  to  the  far  greater  benefit 
of  the  greater  number  of  females,  and  those,  too,  of  a  class  for 
whom  it  was  the  chief  duty  and  interest  of  the  city  to  provide  a 
high  education.  The  opinion,  therefore,  became  general,  if  not 
universal,  that,  if  the  school  was  continued,  some  change  in  its 
principles  must  be  adopted.  Two  schemes  only  were  suggested, 
by  those  who  wished  to  continue  the  course  three  years :  — 
Jl''That  the  High  School  should  be  confined  to  girls  educated  in 
the  Grammar  Schools.  This  could  not  be  sustained  for  one  mo- 
ment. For,  in  addition  to  the  common  right,  which  would  be 
inherent  in  all  parents,  to  send  their  children  to  schools  sup- 
ported at  the  public  expense,  the  tendency  would  be  to  bring 
back  to  the  Grammar  Schools  a  class  of  children,  from  the  edu- 
cation of  whom  the  city  was  now  relieved,  by  the  predilection 
or  pecuniary  ability  of  parents.  2.  That  the  qualifications  for 
admission  should  be  raised,  alnd  the  course  of  three  years  be  con- 
tinued. This  last  was  the  favorite  scheme  of  those  most  desi- 
rous of  continuing  the  school  for  the  term  of  three  years,  accord- 
ing to  the  original  project.  A  single  objection  seemed,  however, 
conclusive  against  this  scheme.  In  proportion  as  the  qualifica- 
tions for  admission  are  raised,  the  school  becomes  exclusive. 
Although  nominally  open  to  all,  it  will  be  open  only  to  the  few, 
and  shut  to  the  many. 

Actuated  by  these  general  views,  a  sub-committee  was  ap- 
19* 


222  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

pointed  by  the  School  Committee,  to  whom  the  report  made  in 
the  August  preceding^  was  referred,  to  consider  the  expediency 
of  making  fm'ther  provision  for  the  High  Schools  for  Girls,  on 
the  same  basis  of  extent,  of  time,  and  of  studies  as  the  original 
project  embraced.  This  Committee,  after  long  deliberation,  and 
inquiring  of  the  several  masters  of  the  Grammar  Schools,  as  to 
the  effect  upon  the  character  and  prospects  in  those  schools  pro- 
duced by  the  High  School  for  Girls,  found  there  was  a  diver- 
sity of  opinion.  Some  of  the  masters  regarded  the  effects  as 
beneficial ;  others  thought  them  prejudicial.  Removing  the  best 
and  most  exemplary  scholars  damped  the  ardor  of  the  girls 
who  remained,  and  took  away  the  materials  from  which  moni- 
tors were  selected,  and  reduced  the  standard  of  the  Common 
Schools  from  the  highest  to  a  secondary  grade.  The  Commit- 
tee, therefore,  on  the  seventeenth  of  November  ensuing,  made 
a  report,  stating  those  facts,  and  that  new  principles  ought  to 
be  adopted  in  relation  to  the  qualification  for.  admission  and 
time  of  remaining  in  the  High  School  for  Girls ;  and  unani- 
mously recommended  the  following  modifications  of  the  system 
of  that  school.  These  were  immediately  adopted  by  the  School 
Committee,  namely,  —  that  the  age  of  admission  should  be  four- 
teen, instead  of  eleven;  that  continuance  in  the  school  should 
be  only  for  one  year,  instead  of  three ;  and  that  the  requisitions 
for  admission  should  be  raised,  so  as  to  include  all  branches 
taught  in  the  public  Grammar  and  Writing  Schools ;  and  that 
no  female  should  be  admitted  after  the  age  of  sixteen. 

These  modifications,  in  which  the  School  Committee  and 
City  Council  generally  concurred,  so  greatly  diminished  the  ad- 
vantages the  original  plan  of  the  school  proposed,  that  much  of 
the  interest  which  its  creation  excited  was  also  diminished.  It 
became  apparent,  that  a  school  thus  limited,  of  which  the  advan- 
tages could  be  enjoyed  only  for  one  year,  would  not  be,  as  the 
original  scheme  professed,  for  the  benefit  of  the  many;  but,  in 
fact,  for  the  exclusive  advantage  of  the  few,  and,  for  the  most 
part,  of  those  whose  private  resources  were  fully  adequate  for 
the  education  of  their  own  daughters.  The  higher  the  qualifica- 
/  tions  required,  the  more  exclusive  the  school.  The  daughters  of 
\«ducated  men,  of  lawyers,  clergymen,  and  physicians,  who  had 

1  See  page  219, 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  223 

leisure  themselves,  or  those  who  had  fortunes  sufficient  to  give 
their  daughters  the  high  preparatory  education,  would,  unavoid- 
ably, be  preferred  on  examination.  To  them,  the  advantages  of 
the  school  would  principally  result,  and  not  to  the  daughters  of 
the  mass  of  the  citizens. 

The  school,  however,  was  permitted  to  continue,  subject  to 
this  modification,  until  November,  1827,  when  a  committee  was 
raised  to  consider  the  expediency  of  continuing  it ;  which,  on  the 
eleventh  of  December  following,  reported  that,  in  their  opinion, 
"  it  was  expedient  to  continue  it."  This  report  was  the  occasion 
of  much  debate ;  and  several  modifications  were  proposed,  on 
which  the  Committee  was  equally  divided,  when  a  motion  was 
made  for  the  postponement  of  the  question  to  the  next  School 
Committee,  which,  in  the  course  of  that  month,  was  to  be  elected. 
On  this  question,  the  votes  being  equal,  —  "six  and  six,"  —  the 
Mayor,  after  declaring,  that  his  opinion  was  so  decidedly  adverse 
to  the  continuance  of  the  school,  that  he  could  not  vote  in  its 
favor ;  yet,  regarding  the  question  of  great  importance,  and  that 
the  continuance  of  it  was  a  subject  of  much  public  and  popular 
animadversion,  and  that  the  School  Committee  then  about  to  be 
elected,  coming  immediately  from  the  citizens,  would  be  better 
qualified,  from  their  acquaintance  with  the  general  feeling  and 
sentiments  of  the  people,  to  decide  the  question  most  satisfac- 
torily, postponed  the  subject  to  the  next  city  year  by  his  casting 
vote. 

This  decision  having  been  made  the  subject  of  much  popular 
animadversion,  the  Mayor  did  not  deem  his  official  duty  fulfilled 
without  presenting  his  views  distinctly  to  his  fellow-citizens; 
and,  accordingly,  in  his  inaugural  address  to  the  city  govern- 
ment, in  January,  1828,1  expressed,  in  a  dkect  and  unequivocal 
manner,  his  opinion,  that  the  standard  of  public  education  ought 
to  be  raised  to  the  greatest  practicable  height  in  our  Common 
Schools ;  that  the  effect  of  the  High  School  for  Girls  was,  in  his 
judgment,  far  different  from  that  which  popular  opinion  enter- 
tained ;  that,  instead  of  being  for  the  benefit  of  the  children  of 
the  whole  community,  it  was,  in  fact,  comparatively  for  the 
benefit  of  those  of  a  very  few,  and  that,  too,  a  class  who  were 
best  qualified,  by  intelligence,  education,  and  wealth,  to  provide 
for  the  high  instruction  of  their  own  children. 

1  See  Appendix,  F. 


224  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

Leading  members  of  the  City  Council  coincided  in  these 
general  views ;  and  at  a  meeting,  early  in  January,  1828,  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  Mayor,  the  succeeding  School  Committee  took 
into  consideration  the  subject  referred  to  them  by  the  preceding 
Board;  and  when  under  discussion,  say  the  records,  "James 
Savage  remarked  that,  though  he  had,  as  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mon Council,  voted  an  appropriation  to  the  High  School  for 
Girls,  it  was  mainly  with  a  view  to  make  a  public  experiment 
of  the  system  of  mutual  instruction;  that  he  was  opposed  to 
the  High  School  for  Gii'ls,  and  to  the  whole  system  of  instruc- 
tion, as  regards  females ;  he  therefore  moved,  that  a  sub-commit- 
tee be  raised  to  consider,  — 

"  Whether  the  High  School  for  Girls  shall  be  continued,  and 
the  basis  on  which  it  shall  be  established ;  — 

"  Whether  the  girls  may  not  well  be  allowed  to  remain  at  the 
Grammar  Schools  throughout  the  year ;  — 

"And,  whether  the  time  of  their  continuance  at  these  schools 
may  not  be  advantageously  extended." 

This  motion  being  adopted,  the  following  Sub- Committee 
was  appointed  for  its  consideration,  namely,  —  the  Mayor,  John 
Pickering,  Samuel  T.  Armstrong,  William  B.  Fowle,  Samuel 
Barrett,  Zabdiel  B.  Adams,  and  Amos  Farnsworth. 

This  Committee  made,  on  the  twelfth  of  February,  an  elabo- 
rate report  unanimously,  in  which  was  set  forth,  in  detail,  all 
the  chief  views  and  arguments  connected  with  the  subject ;  and 
declared  their  opinion,  that  the  High  School  for  Girls  "  ought 
not  to  be  reestablished  upon  the  basis  of  embracing  the  extent 
of  time  and  the  multiplied  objects  of  education  which  the  ori- 
ginal plan  of  that  school  contemplated;"  and  that  it  ought  not 
to  be  continued  "  on  the  restricted  basis,  as  to  time  and  objects, 
to  which  it  was  reduced  by  the  vote  of  the  seventeenth  of  No- 
vember, 1826;"!  but  that  "it  was  far  preferable  to  arrange  all 
our  Grammar  and  Writing  Schools  so  that  the  standard  of  edu- 
cation in  them  may  be  elevated  and  enlarged,  thereby  making 
them  all,  as  it  respects  females,  in  fact,  high  schools,  in  which 
each  child  may  advance,  according  to  its  attainments,  to  the 
same  branches  recently  taught  in  the  High  School  for  Girls. 
The  Sub- Committee  then  entered  upon  a  wide  survey  of  the 
whole  school  system ;  and  closed  their  report  by  recommending 

^  See  page  222. 


CITY   GOVERNIVIENT.  225 

a  series  of  resolutions,  wliich,  after  undergoing  some  modifica- 
tions, were  adopted  by  the  School  Committee  unanimously,  in 
which  the  opinion  of  the  School  Committee  was  declared,  that 
it  was  for  the  interest  of  the  city,  that  the  mutual  or  monitorial 
system  of  instruction  should  be  introduced  into  the  Boylston  and 
Bowdoin  Schools ;  that  an  appropriation  be  requested  of  the 
City  Council,  for  preparing  the  school  houses  for  this  purpose ; 
and  the  Sub- Committee,  who  made  the  report,  were  reappointed 
to  carry  the  resolutions  adopted  into  effect.  On  the  third  of 
June  ensuing,  "  Mr.  Savage  moved  that  the  girls  be  permitted  to 
remain  in  the  English  Grammar  Schools  throughout  the  year." 
This  motion  being  adopted,  and  measures  taken  for  carrying  ■'"\ 
into  effect  the  views  thus  sanctioned,  the  project  of  the  High  j 
School  for  Girls  was  abandoned,  and  the  scale  of  instruction  in  ) 
the  Common  Schools  in  the  city  was  gradually  elevated  and 
enlarged. 

This  result,  and  the  distinctness  with  which  the  Mayor  had 
made  known  his  opinion,  concerning  the  inexpediency  of  esta- 
blishing such  a  High  School  for  Girls  at  the  expense  of  the  city,  . 
in  opposition  to  the  views  and  interests  of  a  body  of  citizens  of  | 
great  activity,  and  of  no  inconsiderable  influence,  gave  origin  to 
party  assaults  upon  the  motives  and  conduct  of  that  officer, 
which  he  noticed  in  his  final  address  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen, 
on  taking  leave  of  the  office,  in  January,  1829.^  The  soundness 
of  these  views,  and  their  coincidence  with  the  permanent  inte- 
rests of  the  city,  seem  to  be  sanctioned  by  the  fact,  that  twenty- 
three  years  (1851)  have  elapsed,  and  no  effectual  attempt,  during 
that  period,  has  been  made  for  its  revival,  in  the  School  Com- 
mittee, or  in  either  branch  of  the  City  Council. 

A  question  growing  out  of  the  relation  of  the  Mayor  of  the  city 
to  the  School  Committee,  of  which,  by  the  city  charter,  he  was 
officially  a  component  part,  ought  not,  perhaps,  to  be  omitted  in 
this  history,  although  of  no  other  general  importance  than  as 
preserving  a  remembrance  of  the  different  construction  made  of 
that  charter,  and  of  its  having  temporarily  been  the  occasion  of 
party  animadversions.  When,  under  the  town  government,  the 
School  Committee  was  established,  there  was  no  individual 
elected  by  the  vote  of  all  the  inhabitants  as  chief  officer  or  head 
of  the  town.     The    Selectmen,  as  the   Executive   Board,  was 

^  See  page  2G9. 


226  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

accustomed  to  elect  annually  a  chairman ;  but  his  authority  and 
official  character  were  derived  solely  from  their  election.  The 
School  Committee,  therefore,  considering,  justly,  that  the  power 
of  electing  a  chairman  of  the  Selectmen  did  not  include  the 
power  of  electing  a  chanman  of  the  School  Committee,  not- 
withstanding the  Selectmen  were  component  parts  of  that 
Board,  provided,  in  their  first  organization,  "  that,  at  the  first 
meeting  in  each  year,  the  Board  should  organize  itself  by 
choosing  a  chaimian."  .  And  this  was  the  uniform  practice,  until 
the  adoption  of  the  city  charter.  It  was  manifest  that- the  rela- 
tion of  things  was  materially  changed  by  this  charter.  Like  the 
Selectmen,  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  were  made  a  component 
part  of  the  School  Committee ;  but  the  Mayor  was  not  chosen 
by  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  but  elected  head  of  the  city  by  the 
body  of  its  citizens ;  and,  by  the  force  of  that  relation,  it  was 
the  opinion  of  many,  and,  at  the  commencement  of  the  new 
government,  apparently  of  all,  that,  ex  officio,  he  had  the  right, 
and  that  it  was  his  duty  to  claim  the  station  of  chairman  of  all 
the  boards  of  which,  ex  officio,  he  was  a  component  part.  This 
opinion  was  so  strong  and  so  general,  that  it  does  not  appear 
that,  during  the  first  seven  years  after  the  organization  of  the 
city  government,  that  any  question  was  raised,  or  any  doubt 
expressed  on  the  subject.  John  Phillips,  the  first  Mayor,  with 
the  Aldermen  met,  on  the  sixth  of  May,  1822,  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  School  Committee,  and  took  the  chair,  as  Mayor  of 
the  city,  and  the  School  Committee  proceeded  immediately  to 
organize  themselves  by  the  choice  of  a  secretary.  '  Neither  the 
record  nor  any  document  indicates  that  the  proposition  to  choo? 
him  or  any  one  chairman  was  either  made  or  thought  of  by  ai.^ 
member  of  the  School  Committee.  The  same  was  the  case 
with  his  successor,  during  the  nearly  six  years  to  which  his  ad- 
ministration extended.  The  first  intimation  of  any  discontent 
existing  in  the  Committee,  for  their  omission  to  elect  a  chair- 
man, occurred  on  the  twelfth  of  February,  1828,  more  than  a 
month  after  the  School  Committee  had  been  that  year  organ- 
ized in  the  usual  course. 

On  that  day,  the  record  states,  that  "  it  was  suggested  by  Mr. 
Bowdoin,"  (the  Secretary  of  the  Committee,)  "  that,  in  examin- 
ing the  rules  of  the  Board  now  in  force,  with  a  view  to  his  duties 
as  secretary,  he  had  found  a  provision  requiring,  as  a  part  of  the 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  227 

organization  of  the  Board,  tlic  ainiual  choice  of  a  chairman,  at 
its  first  meeting  in  January ;  that  the  organization,  by  such 
choice,  was  not  completed  at  the  late  meeting ;  and,  advert- 
ing to  the  words  of  the  preamble  to  the  rules,  that  the  School 
Committee  is  a  constiluent  branch  of  the  city  government,  by  the 
cliarter,  added  that,  as  it  was  a  part  of  the  duty  required  of 
those  elected  by  the  several  branches,  he  doubted  whether  they 
could  dispense  with  the  responsibility  of  that  part  of  the  organ- 
ization. 

"After  some  debate  on  the  subject,  in  which  it  was  said  by 
the  Mayor,  who  disclaimed  all  personal  motives,  that  '  he  con- 
sidered the  person  holding  the  office  of  Mayor  as  being  chair- 
man by  force  of  the  city  charter,'  it  was  voted  that  a  committee 
of  five  be  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  a  revision  of  the 
rules ;  and  the  Mayor,  accordingly,  appointed  Messrs.  James 
Bowdoin,  John  Pickering,  Samuel  T.  Armstrong,  Joseph  Head, 
the  Rev.  C.  P.  Grosvenor,  for  the  purpose." 

The  course  and  conduct  of  the  Mayor,  on  this  subject,  having 
been  animadverted  upon  in  pamphlet  and  newspaper,  as  "  as- 
suming "  and  "  selfish,"  in  order  that  no  obscurity  might  rest  on 
his  opinions  and  motives,  be  immediately  addressed  a  letter  to 
the  Board,  in  the  following  terms :  — 

TO  THE  SCHOOL  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  CITY  OF  BOSTON. 

Gentlemen,  —  At  your  last  meeting,  Mr.  Bowdoin  called  the  attention  'of 
the  Committee  to  its  organization,  by  the  choice  of  a  chairman,  and  stating  "  the 
doubts  Jie  entertained  if,  lolien  meeting  as  a  Board,  they  could  dispense  loith  the 
responsihiUti/  of  that  part  of  the  organization." 

As  this  suggestion  and  these  doubts  have  reference  to  the  relations  of  the 
office  which  the  subscriber  has  now  the  honor  to  hold,  and  are  in  repugnance  to 
the  uniform  practice  and  course  of  proceedings  ever  since  the  organization  of 
the  city  government,  the  subscriber  deems  it  his  duty  to  that  office,  and  to  all 
who  may  be  his  successors  In  it,  to  state  openly  his  views,  resulting,  as  they  do, 
frojn  the  terms  of  the  city  charter,  now,  for  the  first  time,  authoritatively  ques- 
tioned, to  the  end,  that  no  obscurity  may  rest  upon  their  nature  and  foundation. 

The  School  Committee  is  constituted  by  the  last  clause  In  the  nineteenth 
section  of  the  city  charter,  which  Is  In  these  words :  —  "And  the  said  citizens 
shall,  at  the  same  time,  and  In  like  manner,  elect  one  person  In  each  ward  to  be 
a  member  of  the  School  Committee  for  the  said  city ;  and  the  persons  so  chosen 
shall  JOINTLY,  WITH  THE  Mayor  AND  Aldermen,  Constitute  the  School 
Committee  for  the  said  city,  and  have  the  care  and  superintendence  of  the  public 
schools." 

From  the  terms  of  this  section  it  is  apparent,  — 


228  MUOTCIPAL  HISTOKY. 

1.  Tliat  tlie  Mayor  and  Aldermen  are  part  of  tlie  School  Committee,  ex 
officio. 

2.  That  the  term,  "  Mayor  and  Aldermen,"  is  not  a  designation  of  the  indivi- 
duals, but  of  their  ofEce  and  relation. 

Had  that  term  been  intended  to  designate  the  individuals,  to  whom  the  persons 
so  elected  were  to  be  joined,  the  expression  would  have  been  different,  namely,  — 
"anrf  the  persons  so  chosen  shall,  jointly,  tuith  the  persons  ivho  shall  he  chosen 
Mayor  arid  Aldermen,"  &c.  As  the  expression  of  the  charter  now  is,  the  per- 
sons so  chosen  are  joined  to  the  office  and  relation,  and  not  to  the  persons  as 
such.  In  corroboration  of  which  reasoning,  it  is  apprehended  that  it  will  not  be 
questioned,  that  an  Alderman  resigning  his  seat  at  that  Board,  or  the  Mayor 
resio-ninw  his  office,  would,  by  that  act,  vacate  his  seat  in  the  School  Committee. 

From  the  above  reasoning,  it  follows,  necessarily,  that  the  ]\Iayor  and  Alder- 
men compose  a  part  of  the  School  Committee,  when  it  meets,  ex  officiis  ;  that  is, 
as  "  Mayor  and  Aldermen,"  and  in  no  other  capacity,  right,  or  relation. 

By  the  tenth  section  of  the  city  charter,  it  is  declared,  "  that  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen,   thus   chosen   and   qualified,   shall    compose    one   board,  and 

SHALL    SIT    AND   ACT     TOGETHER    AS     ONE    BODY,    AT    ALL    MEETINGS     OF 
WHICH   THE   MATOE,   IF   PRESENT,    SHALL    PRESIDE. 

From  both  these  sections  the  conclusion  is,  in  the  opinion  of  the  subscriber, 
unavoidable,  that  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  cannot  meet,  ex  officiis,  but  as  one 
ioard ;  at  all  meetings  of  which  the  Mayor,  if  present,  must  preside. 

If  to  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  for  a  particular  purpose,  as  in  this  case  of 
schools,  other  citizens  are  joined,  they  are,  by  force  of  the  terms  of  the  charter, 
so  joined,  as  aU  citizens  are  joined,  when  they  are  connected  with  the  Chief 
Executive  Board  of  the  Corporation ;  that  is,  modified  hy  the  organization  of 
that  Supreme  Executive  Board,  as  established  in  the  charter. 

The  subscriber  requests,  that  this  claim  of  official  right  may  be  put  on  file  and 
on  record,  to  the  end  that  the  nature  and  foundation  of  it  may  be  understood, 
and  that  those  who  may. hold  this  office  hereafter,  may  have  none  of  their  just 
official  claims  compromitted,  by  any  neglect  or  want  of  vigilance  on  his  part. 
Very  respectfully.  Gentlemen, 

I  am  your  obedient  servant, 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

Boston,  21  February,  1828. 

No  report  appears  by  the  records  to  have  been  made  by  the 
Committee  thus  appointed ;  but  the  records  of  the  next  succeed- 
ing year  state,  "  that  the  Board  proceeded  to  elect  a  chairman  by 
ballot,  and  the  Mayor  was  unanimously  chosen ;  a  practice  which 
has  continued  to  the  present  day ;  notwithstanding,  in  the  year 
1835,  by  act  of  the  Legislature,  the  Board  of  Aldermen  were 
excluded,  and  the  Mayor  of  the  city  constituted  a  component 
part  of  the  School  Committee.  The  course  thus  adopted  being 
probably  deemed  important  to  maintain  the  independence  of 
■ihat  board  of  the  city  government. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

CITY  GOVERmiENT.     1828. 

Jo  SI  AH    QuiNCY,  Mayor  y 

General  Relations  of  the  City  in  respect  of  Debt  —  Healtli  —  Protection  against 
Fire  —  Its  Duty  in  respect  of  Education  —  Effect  on  its  Prosperity  by  the 
Principle  of  Ai'bitrary  Valuation  without  Relief —  Principles  of  Proceeding 
relative  to  the  Voting  Lists  —  Indemnity  of  City  Officers  for  Acts  of  Official 
Duty — Sale  of  Spirituous  Liquors  prohibited  on  the  Common  —  Inexpe- 
diency of  Selling  the  Flats  to  the  Eastward  of  the  New  Market  House,  and  the 
Result  of  the  Measures  taken  on  that  Subject. 

The  municipal  prosperity  of  the  city,  and  the  decisive  evi- 
dences of  the  content  of  the  citizens  with  the  conduct  of  their 
affairs,  were  noticed  in  the  inaugural  address  of  the  Mayor,^  and 
the  chief  causes  of  these  results  were  recapitulated.  The  appre- 
hensions of  a  city  debt  had  been  allayed  by  the  rigid  economy 
enforced,  and  by  the  fact,  that  none  of  the  appropriations  made 
at  the  beginning  of  the  year  had  been  exceeded.  Success  had 
attended  the  measures  adopted  for  the  reduction  of  the  city 
debt,  and  at  the  close  of  the  current  financial  year  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  of  it  would  be  discharged.  The  general  order 
of  the  city  had  been  well  maintained,  and  the  number  of  com- 
plaints in  every  branch  of  the  police  diminished.  The  advan- 
tageous effect  of  the  new  arrangements  in  the  Health  Depart- 
ment were  apparent.  The  general  vaccination  adopted  under 
the  authority  of  former  city  councils,  and  the  vigilance  of  the 
Health  Physician  and  police  officers  had  been  so  effectual,  that 
only  one  case  of  the  smallpox,  within  the  city,  had  been  known 
or  suspected,  although  it  had  spread  with  activity  in  towns  in 
the  immediate  vicinity.  Tables,  founded  on  the  bills  of  mortal- 
ity, showed  that,  from  1824  to  1827  inclusive,  the  annual  ave- 

1  The  whole  number  of  votes  cast,  were  2629,  of  which  Josiah  Quincy  had 
2189.  The  Aldermen  elected  were,  —  John  T.  Loring,  Robert  Fennelly,  James 
Savage,  Thomas  Kendall,  James  Hall,  John  Pickering,  Phineas  Upham,  Samuel 
T.  Armstrong. 

~  See  Appendix  G. 

20 


230  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

rage  proportion  of  deaths  to  population  had  not  only  been  less 
than  that  in  any  antecedent  year,  but  it  was  believed  to  be  less 
than  that  of  any  other  city  of  equal  population  on  record. 
These  facts  and  calculations  were  stated,  to  show  the  wisdom 
of  persevering  in  that  systematic  cleansing  of  the  city  from 
noxious  animal  and  vegetable  substances,  which  was  com- 
menced in  1823,  and  had  been  since  regularly  pm-sued.  The 
occasion  was  taken  to  press  upon  the  minds  of  the  citizens  the 
duty  of  holding  the  executive  officers  of  the  city  directly  respon- 
sible for  the  right  conduct  of  this  branch  of  police,  more-  than  for 
any  other,  and  the  certainty  that  it  can  never,  for  any  great 
length  of  time,  be  executed  well,  except  by  agents,  whose  labors 
it  can  command  at  all  times  and  apply  to  all  exigencies,  and  to 
the  ever-varying  requisitions  of  a  city. 

The  establishment  of  a  fire  department  had  created  a  sense 
of  security,  and  reduced  the  rates  of  insurance  against  fire  on 
the  real  property  within  the  city  twenty  per  cent.  This  reduction, 
the  Presidents  of  several  insm-ance  offices  had  authorized  it  to  be 
stated,  was  solely  the  effect  of  the  efficiency  of  that  department. 

The  duty  and  interest  of  society,  with  regard  to  public  educa- 
tion, was  stated  to  be  best  fulfilled  by  establishing  such  public 
schools  as  would  elevate  as  highly  as  possible  the  intellectual 
and  moral  condition  of  the  mass  of  the  community.  To  this 
end,  every  necessary  branch  of  elementary  instruction  should  be 
put  within  the  reach  of  every  citizen.  K  other  and  higher 
branches  of  instruction  are  to  be  added  to  these,  it  should  be  to 
our  common  schools,  and  enjoyed  on  the  same  equal  principles 
of  common  right,  and  as  common  property.  Every  school,  the 
admission  to  which  is  based  upon  the  principle  of  requiring 
higher  attainments,  at  a  specified  age,  than  the  mass  of  children 
in  the  ordinary  course  of  school  instruction,  at  that  age,  can 
attain,  is,  in  truth,  a  school  for  the  benefit  of  the  few,  and  not 
of  the  many.  Li  form,  it  may  be  general ;  but  in  fact,  it  will  be 
exclusive.  The  Mayor  closed  this  address,  by  presenting  views 
concerning  the  effect  upon  the  prosperity  of  the  city,  of  "  assess- 
ing taxes  on  the  principle  of  an  arbitrary  valuation  without 
relief." 

To  these  views,  the  attention  of  the  city  government  was  early 
called,  by  a  petition  of  Jesse  Putnam  and  a  number  of  other 
citizens  of  wealth  and  respectability,  stating  that  the  inequality 


CITY   GOVElimiENT.  231 

produced  by  the  present  system  of  taxation,  was  apparently  unwise 
and  unjust  and  disadvantageous  to  the  prosperity  of  Boston,  in 
comparison  with  the  effects  of  the  system  pursued  in  other  cities. 

The  Mayor,  having  been  previously  informed  of  an  intention 
to  bring  this  subject  under  the  consideration  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil, had,  in  the  December  preceding,  addressed  letters  to  the 
Mayors  of  New  York,  Baltimore,  and  Philadelphia,  where  modes 
of  assessment  were  practised  more  generally  satisfactory  than 
those  adopted  in  Massachusetts ;  from  each  of  whom  a  reply  was 
received. 

The  Mayor  of  New  York  ^  stated  that  "  the  mode  of  assessing 
taxes  in  that  city  was  considered  the  best  that  can  be  adoptedP 
Lists  from  every  individual  of  the  amount  of  his  estate  are  not 
required.  To  many  persons  engaged  in  mercantile  business,  a 
fair  exhibit  is  impossible,  and  might  be  injurious.  Two  assess- 
ors are  chosen  by  the  people  in  each  ward  at  the  annual  elec- 
tion in  November.  They  are  under  oath  to  make  a  fair  and 
equitable  assessment  of  all  estates,  real  and  personal,  in  their 
respective  wards,  excepting  such  lands  and  buildings  as  are 
exempted  by  law  from  taxation.  The  Assessors  commence  busi- 
ness early  in  May,  and  complete  it  by  the  first  of  July.  They 
then  advertise  to  hear  appeals.  For  ten  days,  any  one  may 
apply  and  view  the  assessment.  If  they  consider  the  amount 
too  high,  they  may  make  oath  to  the  Assessors  of  the  value  of 
their  property,  which  is  conclusive.'  The  books  are  afterwards 
returned  to  the  Mayor,  Recorder,  and  Aldermen,  who  examine 
whether  the  wards  are  assessed  in  a  just  proportion  to  each  other, 
and  they  have  power  to  lessen  one  ward  and  augment  another, 
so  as  to  produce  an  equitable  apportionment. 

The  Mayor  of  Baltimore  ^  stated  that  "  although  their  system 
of  taxation  was  not  free  from  objection,  he  was  perfectly  free  to 
say  that  it  gives  general  satisfaction."  The  Assessors,  who  are 
under  oath  to  make  a  just  valuation  of  all  assessable  property, 
apply  together  to  the  residence  of  each  taxable  person,  and  obtain 
a  statement  of  their  property,  and  assess  or  value  the  same  to 
the  best  of  then-  judgment;  where  they  have  reason  to  sus- 
pect deception  or  imposition  in  rendering  an  account  of  their 
property,  they  have  the  power  of  requiring  an  oath.     A  bill 

1  William  Pauldins;.  2  Jacob  Small. 


232  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

of  particulars  is  required  to  be  made  out  by  the  Collector,  and 
delivered  to  each  person  assessed,  on  or  before  the  first  of  July 
in  each  year,  which,  if  not  paid  within  three  months,  the  Col- 
lector is  authorized  to  enforce. 

The  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia ^  stated  that  "the 
assessments  were  made  by  fifteen  assessors,  annually  elected, 
one  for  each  ward.  Triennially,  two  assessors  are  elected  in 
each  ward  to  make  a  new  assessment ;  but  every  year  the 
assessment  is  examined  and  corrected  by  each  assessor  in  his 
own  ward ;  and  the  new  assessments  are  compared  and  equal- 
ized by  a  general  meeting  of  the  Assessors.  These  returns  are 
made  subsequently  to  county  commissioners,  who,  under  the 
law,  are  bound  to  fix  certain  days  of  appeal,  before  whom  any 
citizen,  who  is  aggiieved  or  injured  in  the  valuation  of  his  real 
estate,  may  appear,  and  have  the  valuation  altered.  No  lists  of 
valuation  of  property  or  estate  are  demanded  of  owners  or  occu- 
pants. The  Assessors  affix  the  value  of  the  premises  and  own- 
er's name,  as  they  pass  from  door  to  door,  and  if  they  err  in 
obtaining  the  proper  owner's  names,  the  Collector  gets  it  right 
on  a  duplicate.  There  never  has  been,  to  my  knowledge,  with 
a  view  to  taxation,  any  estimate  of  the  personal  property  of  an 
individual  or  corporation.  I  am  not  aware  of  any  dissatisfac- 
tion as  to  the  manner  of  assessment,  or  of  inequality  in  the 
affixed  valuation." 

The  petition  of  Jesse  Putnam,  with  the  accompanying  docu- 
ments, was  referred  to  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Pickering,  Up- 
ham,  and  Armstrong,  and  to  Messrs.  E.  Williams,  Simonds, 
Appleton,  Gibbens,  Dyer,  Gray,  and  "Ward,  of  the  Common 
Council,  who  referred  the  subject  to  a  sub-committee,  of  which 
John  C.  Gray  was  chairman,  with  instructions,  in  conformity 
with  the  petition  of  Jesse  Putnam,  to  "  investigate  the  system  of 
apportioning  the  taxes  as  now  pursued  in  the  city,  and  to  con- 
sider of  a  modification  of  them."  This  Sub- Committee  reported 
in  March  following,  that  "  by  the  laws  establishing  this  system, 
every  individual  is  compelled  to  exhibit  an  exact  statement  of 
his  property,  personal  as  well  as  real,  or  in  default  thereof,  to  be 
doomed  by  assessors,  according  to  the  best  of  then*  knowledge 
and  judgment.     In  a  community  so  active  and  wealthy  as  ours, 

1  Joseph  Watson. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  233 

there  must  be  obviously  serious  embarrassments  in  carrying  such 
a  system  into  complete  execution.  In  such  a  community  there 
must  be  great  and  manifest  objections  on  the  part  of  numerous 
individuals  to  the  first  branch  of  the  alternative  offered  by  our 
laws,  namely,  —  a  complete  disclosure  of  their  property.  In  the 
first  place,  such  a  disclosure  is  often  impracticable.  The  capital 
of  an  individual  may  be  employed,  for  instance,  in  foreign  trade, 
and  may  be  materially  affected  by  events  which  are  unknown  to 
the  possessor  at  the  time  of  his  making  his  statement.  Secondly, 
there  are  very  many  who  cannot  expose  the  state  of  their  affairs 
without  embarrassment  or  ruin.  These  circumstances,  and 
others  of  equal  importance,  which  have  frequently  been  stated  to 
the  public,  have  produced  a  general  unwillingness  among  the 
inhabitants  of  this  city,  and  it  is  believed  of  other  towns  in  the 
Commonwealth,  to  exhibit  accurate  lists  of  their  possessions. 
Nor,  perhaps,  is  this  fact  to  be  greatly  regretted.  By  demanding 
such  lists,  we  invite  each  individual  to  become  a  ivitness  in  a 
case  in  ivhich  he  has  the  most  immediate  and  direct  pecuniary  coni- 
cern.  Can  it  be  questioned,  that  if  the  practice  of  exhibiting 
lists  should  become  general,  that  the  minds  of  individuals  must, 
in  many  cases,  be  biased  by  their  interest ;  that  statements  of 
very  different  degrees  of  exactness  and  fairness  might  be  ren- 
dered by  persons  possessing  an  equal  amount  of  property ;  that 
a  strong  temptation  would  be  offered,  if  not  to  falsehood  and 
perjury,  at  least  to  dangerous  prevarication  ;  and  that  the 
Assessors  might,  in  the  end,  be  far  from  arriving  at  the  exact 
truth,  which  it  was  the  object  of  this  provision  to  secure  ?  This 
general  omission  of  our  fellow-citizens,  to  give  accurate  state- 
ments of  their  property,  however  little  to  be  regretted  in  a  moral, 
or  even  an  economical  point  of  view,  renders  it  the  duty  of  the 
Assessors  to  doom  all  property  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge ; 
and  this  is  a  task  which  is  attended  with  much  difficulty  and 
embarrassment,  so  far  as  respects  personal  property.  Their 
means  of  knowledge  must  be,  in  many  cases,  exceedingly  limited, 
and  then"  opinions  founded  merely  on  report  or  conjecture. 
Their  power,  therefore,  no  matter  how  wisely  or  conscientiously 
exercised,  is,  to  a  great  degree,  an  arbitrary  power  ;  and  such  it 
must  always  be  under  our  actual  system  of  taxation.  Hence 
we  find  that  a  tax  on  personal  property  in  general,  is  considered 
by  the  best  writers  on  political  economy,  as  one  which  can  never 

20* 


234  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

be  imposed  without  serious  disadvantage,  except  in  communities 
of  very  small  size  and  very  limited  capital.  These  cu'cumstan- 
ces  have  led  many  of  our  fellow-citizens  to  inquu-e,  whether  some 
radical  change  could  not  be  made  in  our  present  system  of  taxa- 
tion." Having  stated  these  views  on  this  subject,  the  Sub- Com- 
mittee forbore  to  pursue  further  the  questions  arising  at  that 
time,  as  whatever  change  was  effected  must  be  made  by  the 
Legislature  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  confined  their  attention 
to  a  change  in  the  number  and  to  varying  the  compensation  of 
the  Assessors,  which  they  recommended  in  the  form  of  an  ordi- 
nance, which  was,  on  the  fourteenth  of  April,  passed  by  the  City 
Council ;  who,  in  accepting  this  report  of  the  Sub- Committee, 
in  view  of  the  extent  and  importance  of  the  resulting  questions, 
postponed  them  for  future  deliberation,  and,  finally,  in  December 
following,  referred  them,  with  all  the  documents,  to  the  next 
City  Council,  in  which  they  were  not  revived. 

The  state  of  the  voting  lists  and  the  repeated  applications  of 
citizens  to  have  their  names  inserted  in  them  on  the  day  of  elec- 
tion, and  after  they  had  been  delivered  to  the  Inspectors,  having 
been  frequent  topics  of  discussion  during  the  course  of  the  second 
administration  of  the  city  government,  and  the  subject  being  of 
annual  occurrence  and  permanent  interest,  it  has  been  deemed 
useful,  in  addition  to  the  statements  already  made  in  this 
history,  that  the  chief  principles  and  measures,  successively 
adopted  in  relation  to  it,  should  be  recapitulated  and  brought 
into  one  view. 

In  March,  1824,  a  question  arose,  concerning  the  mode  of 
admitting  the  name  of  voters  to  be  placed  upon  the  voting  lists, 
the  inspectors,  in  some  of  the  wards,  having  taken  upon  them- 
selves to  place  names  on  those  lists  after  they  had  been  dehvered 
to  them  by  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen.  It  was  deemed  import- 
ant to  put  an  early  stop  to  practices  so  irregular  and  contrary  to 
the  charter.  And  a  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  the 
Mayor,  Aldermen  Child  and  Hooper,  and  Messrs.  E.  Williams, 
Wilkinson,  Wright,  and  Davis,  to  inquire  into  "the  propriety 
and  expediency  of  adopting  some  uniform  mode  of  admitting 
the  names  of  voters  to  be  placed  on  the  voting  Usts."  This 
Committee  reported  that  the  duty  of  making  out  the  lists  of  the 
citizens  qualified  to  vote  in  each  ward,  was,  .by  the  twenty-fourth 
section  of  the  city  charter,  expressly  devolved  upon  the  Mayor 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  O35 

and  Aldermen;  that  the  list  they  had  prepared,  it  was  their 
duty  to  deliver  to  the  City  Clerk,  to  be  used  by  the  Warden  and 
Inspectors ;  and  the  charter  was  express,  that  "  no  person  shall 
be  entitled  to  vote  at  such  election,  whose  name  is  not  borne  on 
such  list ; "  and  that  it  was  the  special  duty  of  the  inspectors  "  to 
take  care  that  no  person  should  vote  whose  name  is  not  borne  on 
such  list ;  "  and  a  resolve  was  accordingly  passed,  declaring  that 
the  inspectors  had  no  right  to  admit  any  person  to  vote  who  was 
not  on  the  list  delivered  to  the  City  Clerk  by  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen,  and  also  a  resolve,  that  ten  days  previous  to  any  elec- 
tion, three  copies  of  the  lists  made  out  by  the  Mayor  and  Alder- 
men should  be  deposited  in  three  public  places  in  each  ward,  so 
as  to  give  full  opportunity  for  every  citizen,  if  he  saw  fit,  to 
ascertain  if  his  name  was  borne  thereon,  and  have  the  mistake 
rectified. 

In  April  of  the  same  year  (1824)  a  person  who  had  not  been 
taxed  the  preceding  year,  and  whose  name  was,  of  consequence, 
not  upon  the  voting  lists,  voluntarily  procured  himself  to  be 
assessed,  and  brought  a  certificate  of  the  fact  to  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen,  demanding  that  his  name  should  then  be  inserted  in 
the  voting  lists.  They  refused  to  insert  his  name,  and  passed  a 
vote,  declaring  that  they  had  no  authority  so  to  do,  under  those 
circumstances. 

In  April,  1826,  the  errors  which  had  occurred  in  the  voting 
lists,  as  delivered  to  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  by  the  Assessors, 
had  been  so  numerous,  that  the  Mayor  made  a  special  recom- 
mendation to  the  City  Council  for  a  more  specific  provision 
against  such  occurrences  in  future.  The  Committee  raised  on 
this  recommendation,  reported  that,  owing  to  the  great  press  of 
business  and  the  sickness  of  one  of  the  Assessors,  a  greater  num- 
ber of  errors  had  occurred  in  the  voting  lists  than  was  usual ; 
that  this  temporary  cause  of  inaccuracy  might,  and  would  be 
prevented,  by  increasing  the  number  of  assessors  ;  but  that  there 
were  causes  of  a  permanent  natm-e,  for  which  the  remedy  lies 
wholly  with  the  citizens  themselves,  and  consists  in  their  own 
vigilance.  Mistakes  in  the  voting  lists,  being  for  the  most  part 
detected  in  the  heat,  and  under  the  excitement  of  an  election, 
give  rise  to  suspicions  of  intentional  omissions  utterly  unfounded. 
The  citizens  should  remember  that,  from  the  complexity  and 
intrinsic  difficulties,  perfect  accuracy  is  unattainable.     Citizens 


236  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

who  change  their  residence  from  one  ward  to  another,  and  who 
have  recently  come  of  age,  are  peculiarly  subjects  of  such  errors. 
Even  fixed  inhabitants  may  sometimes  be  omitted,  either  in 
copying  or  printing  the  voting  lists,  including  eight  or  ten  thou- 
sand voters.  It  is  true,  such  errors  seldom  occur ;  but  the  safe 
principle  for  every  citizen  to  adopt  is,  that  there  is  no  absolute 
certainty  that  his  name  is  on  the  lists,  except  it  be  ascertained  by 
previous  personal  inspection.  The  Assessors'  Ksts,  which  they 
are  obliged  by  law  annually  to  make  out  and  deliver  to  the 
Mayor  and  Aldermen,  are,  substantially,  the  evidence  of  the  right 
of  the  citizen  to  vote  at  any  election.  Their  correctness  depends 
upon  their  coincidence  with  the  books  of  the  Assessors.  Of  this 
coincidence,  the  Assessors  are  the  legal  certifying  officers.  The 
revision  and  correction  of  those  lists  by  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen 
must  depend  upon  the  evidence  adduced  by  the  individual  citi- 
zens whose  names  have  been  omitted.  "Without  such  evidence, 
the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  have  no  authority  to  correct  them. 
Between  the  lists  and  books  of  the  Assessors,  there  is  no  reason 
to  anticipate  important  variance ;  nor  yet  between  the  written 
and  printed  fists  of  the  Assessors.  In  both  respects,  comparison 
is  the  duty  of  the  Assessors,  who  are  responsible  for  their  accu- 
racy. 

The  chief  sources  of  error  are  in  the  books  of  the  Assessors, 
and  are  attributable  to  various  circumstances  incident  to  the 
subject,  and  not  wholly  to  be  prevented  by  any  vigilance.  Of 
these  the  foUowing  are  the  most  common  :  — 

1.  In  the  manner  in  which  the  inquiries,  on  which  the  books 
of  the  Assessors  are  founded,  are  unavoidably  made  in  families, 
where,  when  the  head  is  absent,  the  information  given  by 
domestics  is  often  incorrect,  the  Christian  name  mistaken,  or 
surnames  misspelt,  particularly  in  the  case  of  temporary  resi- 
dents in  boarding-houses,  or  boarders  or  domestics. 

2.  Changes  of  residence  after  the  Assessors  have  finished  their 
perambulation. 

3.  Persons  moving  into  the  city,  or,  who  coming  of  age,  after 
such  perambulation  is  finished.  Such  persons,  if  their  names  are 
not  on  the  fists,  have  none  to  blame  but  themselves. 

4.  A  very  common  source  of  error  is  the  withholding  at 
boarding-houses,  through  ignorance  or  wilfulness,  the  Christian 
names  of  the  boarders ;  so  that  only  their  surnames  are  inserted 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  237 

in  the  books  of  the  Assessors ;  and  although,  when  the  tax  is 
collected,  the  Collectors  ascertain  the  Christian  names,  it  is  often 
too  late  for  entry  on  the  voting  lists. 

The  remedy  proposed  for  correcting  these  errors,  and  which 
received  the  sanction  of  both  branches  of  the  City  Council 
were,  —  1st.  The  increase  of  the  number  of  the  Assessors.  2d. 
A  systematic  preparation  and  printing  of  the  voting  Hsts,  as 
early  as  the  first  of  March,  so  that  the  intermediate  time  before 
election  should  be  employed  in  their  revision  and  correction. 
3d.  A  more  general  and  impressive  sense,  on  the  part  of  the  citi- 
zens, of  the  duty  of  inspecting  each  for  himself  the  voting  lists 
previous  to  elections,  particularly  previous  to  that  in  April,  when 
the  hsts  being  new,  inaccuracies  are  more  likely  to  occur. 

In  December,  1826,  the  duty  of  superintending  the  voting 
lists  was  devolved  by  the  City  Council  on  the  Mayor,  with  the 
aid  of  the  Assessors,  subject  to  the  revision  of  the  Board  of 
Aldermen ;  to  whom,  on  the  nineteenth  of  March,  1827,  he  reported 
the  revised  lists,  and  recommended  that  public  notice  should  be 
given  to  the  following  persons,  concerning  whom  errors  in  the 
lists  were  most  likely  to  occur  ;  —  those  doing  business  in  other 
wards  than  those  in  which  they  live  ;  those  taxed  without  their 
Christian  names  ;  those  taxed  within  two  years,  who  had 
become  inhabitants  since  the  first  of  May ;  those  who  have 
come  of  age,  or  changed  their  place  of  residence  since  the  same 
period.  Notice  was  at  this  time  given,  that  aU  who  had  not 
paid  taxes  within  two  years  would  have  their  names  stricken 
from  the  voting  lists. 

In  April,  1828,  complaints  were  made  by  the  Warden  and 
Inspectors  of  one  of  the  wards,  of  the  imperfection  in  the  voting 
lists,  and  suggesting  the  expediency  of  investing  the  Warden 
and  Inspectors  with  power  to  insert  names  in  those  lists.  The 
City  Council,  desirous  that  the  nature  and  causes  of  the  obsta- 
cles to  obtaining  correct  voting  lists  should  be  well  understood, 
postponed  any  report  until  the  new  lists,  taken  under  the  know- 
ledge of  the  previously  existing  complaints,  should  be  tested  by 
some  strongly  controverted  election.  This  occurred  on  that 
of  mayor  on  the  eighth  and  fifteenth  of  December  of  this  year ; 
and  the  Mayor,  on  the  twenty-second  of  the  same  month,  as 
Chairman  of  a  Committee  of  the  City  Council,  made  a  report, 
which  was  accepted  in  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  printed  by 


238  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

the  Common  Council,  but  ultimately  referred  in  that  branch  to 
the  next  City  Council.  In  this  report,  the  Committee  stated, 
that  "  at  no  previous  election  had  the  satisfaction  with  the  voting 
lists  been  more  general ;  that  few  errors  had  occurred,  although 
the  names  on  the  lists  amounted  to  tivelve  thousand.  The  Com- 
mittee then  proceeded  to  state  "  minutely  the  errors  for  which 
the  officers  making  out  the  voting  lists  were  responsible  :  —  1st. 
Such  as  neglecting  to  place  the  name  of  an  inhabitant  on  the  tax 
hooks,  so  that  it  does  not  appear  on  the  voting  lists.  These 
errors,  when  they  occur,  are  often  the  effect  of  accident,- the  inha- 
bitant not  being  at  home,  or  his  house  shut  up,  or  wrong  name 
given,  when  the  Assessors  called.  These  accidents  most  fre- 
quently occur  to  boarders,  or  men  not  heads  of  families,  con- 
cerning whom  wrong  names  are  often  given  at  the  boarding- 
houses  ;  for  these  errors  the  Assessors  are  without  blame.  2d. 
Neglect  to  transfer  members  of  firms  from  the  ivard^ivhere  they  do 
business  to  the  wards  where  they  reside.  This,  when  it  occurs, 
often  results  from  misinformation.  3d.  Erasing  the  name  by 
accident  from  the  tax-books,  so  that  it  is  not  inserted  in  the 
voting  Usts.  This  is  so  rare  as  scarcely  to  deserve  notice.  4th. 
Errors  in  printing  the  voting  lists.  These  are  more  likely  to 
happen  in  printing  the  voting  lists  than  in  printing  any  other 
work,  from  mistakes  in  chnography,  as  it  respects  names,  and 
there  being  no  connection  of  sense,  whereby  the  intention  of  the 
writer  can  be  ascertained.  The  above  are  generally  all  the  errors 
for  which  the  Assessors  are  responsible. 

Those  errors,  for  which  the  Assessors  are  not,  and  cannot  be 
responsible,  are  the  most  numerous.  Such  are,  —  1.  Ignorance 
of  the  voter  himself  of  the  ward  in  which  he  resides.  2.  Remo- 
val after  the  fnst  of  May,  without  taking  care  to  have  his 
name  inserted  on  the  lists  of  the  ward  to  which  he  has  removed. 
3.  Absences  in  May  from  the  city,  of  consequence  not  taxed,  and 
thus  the  name  not  entered  on  the  lists.  4.  Having  one's  name 
transferred  to  a  wrong  ward,  or  by  a  ^^Tong  name,  by  officious 
friends.  5.  Not  having  paid  a  tax,  neither  for  the  preceding  nor 
for  the  current  year,  the  name  of  such  person  having  no  right  to 
be  borne  on  the  voting  hst.  6.  Impracticability  to  obtain  the 
Christian  name  of  the  person  taxed,  and  the  name,  in  such  case, 
being  not  usually  inserted  in  the  voting  lists.  7.  Aliens  taxed, 
but  not  naturahzed,  and  so  not  entitled  to  vote.    8.  Aliens  natu- 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  239 

ralized,  and  their  naturalization  not  made  known  to  the  Assess- 
ors. 9.  Persons  coming  of  age  subsequently  to  the  first  of  May, 
or  to  the  perambulation  of  the  Assessors.  10.  Persons  living  in 
boarding-houses,  or  young  persons  not  heads  of  families,  whose 
names  are  not  given  to  the  Assessors  by  the  families  in  which 
they  reside.  11.  Names  of  tenants  or  taxable  inmates,  whose 
names  are  given  wrongly  by  domestics. 

From  experience,  it  appears  that  four  out  of  five  of  the  errors 
which  occur,  are  of  the  nature  of  those  last  enumerated,  for 
which  the  Assessors  are  not  responsible,  and  for  which  there  is 
no  practicable  remedy,  except  hy  personal  inspection  of  the  voting 
lists  previous  to  the  day  of  election. 

In  order  to  throw  light  on  a  subject  of  some  complexity,  and 
to  guard  voters  against  mistakes,  they  were  reminded  "  that  neio 
voting  lists  are  made  out  every  year  from  the  tax  hooks  of  the 
Assessors  ;  that  these  tax  hooks  have  reference  to  the  state  of  resi- 
dence on  the  first  of  May  ;  and  that  a  voter,  not  found  in  any 
ward  in  May  hy  the  Assessors,  ivill  not  he  taxed,  and  will  not  be 
upon  the  voting  list  of  that  year." 

An  ignorance  of  this  fact  is  one  of  the  principal  causes  of 
discontent.  Men  shun  taxes  and  seek  the  polls ;  but  he  who 
has  received  no  tax  bill  has  no  right  to  expect  that  his  name  is 
on  the  voting  lists.  Old  inhabitants  are  apt  to  imagine  that, 
because  their  names  are  on  the  list  of  the  preceding  year,  they 
must  be  on  the  new  lists  ;  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  the' 
only  foundation  of  the  voting  lists  in  any  year  is  the  tax  books  of 
that  year.  The  unavoidable  difference  between  the  lists  of  any 
former  and  any  present  year,  from  changes  of  residence,  death, 
coming  of  age,  and  the  like  general  causes,  probably  amounts 
every  year  to  a  difference  of  more  than  one  half  of  all  the  names 
on  the  voting  lists. 

No  facts  can  more  impressively  urge  upon  every  voter  the  duty 
of  ascertaining  for  himself,  whether  his  name  is  inserted  on  the 
voting  lists.  As  to  the  suggestion  of  the  expediency  of  investing 
the  Warden  and  Inspectors  with  power  to  insert  names  on  the 
voting  lists,  the  Committee  stated  that  it  was  not  consistent 
with  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth  ;  that  if  attempted,  it 
would  be  calculated  to  introduce  errors  into  the  voting  lists,  con- 
fusion at  the  polls,  and  charges  of  favoritism  and  corruption 
against  the  Inspectors.     These  officers  have  now  but  one  single 


240  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

and  simple  duty ;  that  is,  to  the  admitting  all  to  vote  whose 

NAMES    ARE    BORNE    ON    THE    LISTS   AND  TO  THE  EXCLUDING  OF  ALL 
OTHERS. 

Should  the  "Warden  and  Inspectors  be  allowed  the  right  to 
insert  names  on  the  voting  lists,  every  inducement,  and  even 
necessity,  of  making  the  lists  accurate,  previously  to  election 
day,  would  be  taken  away.  It  had  been  urged,  that  inspectors 
might  be  authorized  to  insert  names  of  those  who  produced 
their  tax  bills ;  but  nothing  would  prevent  the  same  tax  bill 
from  being  presented  in  more  than  one  ward  at  the  same  elec- 
tion ;  the  right  to  vote  being  often  in  a  ward  different  from  that 
specified  in  the  tax  bill.  The  questions  arising,  relative  to  this 
right,  are  often  very  complex,  depending  on  various  circumstan- 
ces ;  when  made  before  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  with  great 
clamor  and  sense  of  right,  they  are  often  ascertained  to  be  of  a 
dubious  character,  and  sometimes  wholly  unfounded.  If  made 
in  the  heat  of  an  election,  and  in  the  midst  of  impassioned  elect- 
ors, it  would  give  rise  to  much  excitement  and  charges  of  favor- 
itism. The  possession  of  such  a  power  by  the  Wardens  and 
Inspectors  would  also  cause  the  selection  of  these  officers  to  be 
made  with  reference  to  party  spirit,  rather  than  to  general  cha- 
racter. In  some  wards  the  Inspectors  are  changed  every  year ; 
and  the  mistakes  made  by  them,  amidst  the  occasional  confusion 
of  the  election,  notwithstanding  the  exceeding  singleness  and 
simplicity  of  then-  present  duties,  sufficiently  indicate  that  no 
greater  power  ought  to  be  intrusted  to  them. 

Thus,  names  have  been  checked  off  by  mistake  ;  men,  uncon- 
sciously by  the  Assessors,  have  been  admitted  to  vote  by  an 
assumed  name;  and  often  voters  have  been  turned  from  the 
polls,  and  denied  the  right  to  vote,  whose  names  were  actually 
borne  on  the  voting  lists,  being  overlooked  by  the  Inspectors  in 
the  haste  and  hurry  of  a  contested  election.  From  this  cause 
alone,  there  luere,  at  one  election,  more  cases  of  rejection,  than 
from  all  the  other  causes  taken  together  ;  there  having  occurred 
more  than  thirty  instances  of  rejection,  from  this  cause  alone, 
of  persons  whose  names  were  borne  on  the  lists.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  general  good  intentions  and  fidelity  of  the  Warden  and 
Inspectors,  the  above  errors  to  which  they  are  now  exposed  are 
sufficient  to  show  that  their  duties  should  not  be  augmented. 

So  long  as  no  person's  name  can  be  placed  on  the  voting 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  241 

list,  except  by  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  no  one  can  lose  his 
vote,  unless  he  has  been  so  indifferent  as  to  neglect  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  voting  lists  once  in  each  year.  It  is  surely  better, 
that  the  citizen  who  will  not  take  so  small  a  trouble  for  so  great 
a  privilege,  should  lose  his  vote,  than  that  a  system  should  be 
adopted,  which,  by  establishing  twelve  distinct  tribunals,  should 
introduce  controversies  and  party  spirit,  leading  to  confusion  and 
to  all  the  difficulties  above  stated  at  the  polls.  The  Committee 
concluded,  by  stating  the  course  adopted,  previous  to  the  last 
election,  had  produced  such  an  approximation  to  correctness, 
that,  during  it,  not  more  than  four  errors  in  the  lists  had 
occurred  which  it  was  possible  for  the  Assessors  to  have  cor- 
rected. Considering  the  gTeat  interest  and  importance  of  the 
subject,  the  above  abstract  of  this  report,  being  the  result  of 
several  years  experience  and  careful  observation  of  facts  by  the 
Mayor,  has  been  deemed  important  enough  to  be  here  distinctly 
preserved ;  and  the  more  so,  because  early  under  the  succeeding 
city  administration,  a  similar  attempt  was  made  to  enlarge  the 
power  of  the  Inspectors,  and  Mr.  Otis,  as  Mayor  and  Chairman 
of  a  Committee  on  this  subject,  in  a  report  made  to  the  City 
Council,  expressly  referred  to  the  report,  of  wMch  the  above  is 
an  abstract,  as  an  "  elaborate  exposition  of  facts  and  principles 
on  the  subject."  ^ 

On  the  fourteenth  of  April,  1828,  Charles  P.  Curtis,  the  City 
Solicitor,  stated  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  that  an  application 
had  been  made  to  him  to  defend  a  watchman  for  an  alleged 
assault  and  battery,  who,  justified  under  color  of  his  office.  The 
Solicitor  requested  that  he  might  receive  instructions  in  this  and 
similar  cases  ;  and  that  *a  general  rule  might  be  established  also 
in  regard  to  advancing  fees  and  expenses  of  witnesses.  The 
communication  was  referred  to  Aldermen  James  Savage  and 
John  Pickering,  to  consider  and  report,  who  accordingly  reported 
that  it  was  expedient  to  instruct  the  Solicitor  to  defend  the 
watchmen  at  the  expense  of  the  city,  and  to  make  all  necessary 
advances  during  the  progress  of  the  action.  With  respect  to 
other  similar  cases,  it  was  difficult  to  lay  down  any  invariable 
rule  for  the  government  of  the  Solicitor,  in  respect  of  actions 
brought  against  any  officer  of  the  city.     From  the  great  number 

1  See  p.  290. 
21 


242  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

of  those  officers,  of  various  degrees  of  intelligence  and  discretion, 
of  various  dispositions  and  temperaments,  and  selected  from  dif- 
ferent classes  of  citizens,  it  is  obvious  that  occasions  for  ground- 
less suits  will  be  as  likely  to  occur  among  them  as  among  indi- 
viduals of  a  similar  character,  who  are  not  city  officers  ;  and  if  a 
spirit  of  litigation  should  be  encouraged,  as  it  would  be  by 
indemnifying  the  officers  in  all  cases,  the  consequence  would  be 
extremely  injurious  to  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  city.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  city  to  protect  faithful 
officers  in  the  proper  execution  of  their  duty,  and  to  indemnify 
them  when  they  are  compelled  to  defend  themselves  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  official  duties.  The  Committee,  therefore,  re- 
ported the  following  order  for  the  government  of  the  City  Soli- 
citor, namely,  —  "  That  in  all  the  actions  and  suits  described  in 
the  ordinance  passed  on  the  eighteenth  of  June,  1827,  against 
any  officer  of  the  city,  such  officer  shall,  in  the  first'instance,  pro- 
secute and  defend,  at  his  own  expense,  and,  if  it  shall  be  found, 
either  by  verdict  or  otherwise,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Solicitor, 
that  such  officer  did  so  prosecute  or  defend  for  good  cause,  and 
that  he  ought  to  be  indemnified  for  his  expenses  in  such  suit, 
then  the  City  Solicitor  shall  certify  accordingly,  and  such  officer 
shall  be  so  indemnified  ;  otherwise,  such  expenses  shall  be  borne 
by  the  officer  himself. 

This  report  was  read  and  accepted  accordingly. 

In  May,  1828,  a  few  weeks  before  the  general  election  day  of 
the  State,  which,  at  that  period,  occurred  annually  on  the  last 
Wednesday  of  this  month,  a  petition  signed  by  Isaac  Parker, 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  about  fom-teen  hun- 
dred citizens,  was  presented  to  the  City  Council,  praying  that 
the  selling  of  spirituous  liquors  on  the  Common,  on  public  holi- 
days, should  be  prevented.  An  order  accordingly  was  issued, 
directing  the  Constables  to  prosecute  any  person,  who,  in  the 
Common,  or  in  the  malls  and  streets  in  its  vicinity,  should 
sell  any  spirituous  or  mixed  liquors,  of  which  part  was  spirit- 
uous, or  who  should  in  any  of  those  places  play  cards,  dice,  or 
with  any  implements  of  gaming,  on  the  days  of  general  election, 
artillery  election,  and  the  fourth  of  July.  Notice  of  this  order 
was  published  immediately  in  the  city  newspapers,  and  the  Con- 
stables directed  to  make  it  known  to  all  who  should  have  per- 
mission to  erect  booth,  tent,  or  table  on  those  days. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  243 

The  expediency  of  selling  by  auction  or  otherwise  the  right 
which  the  Faneuil  Hall  Market  Committee  had  secured  for  the 
city  to  the  eastward  of  that  Hall,  was,  in  the  autumn  of  this 
year  (1828)  brought  before  the  City  Council.  This  right  em- 
braced an  extent  of  flats  equal  to  three  hundred  and  fifteen  feet 
in  length,  and  on  the  west  line  one  hundred  and  ninety-eight  feet, 
and  on  the  east  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  feet,  and  included 
fifty-seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  forty-five  feet  square  of 
loharf  besides  the  right  of  dockage  on  three  sides  of  the  said 
proposed  wharf.  The  subject  was  referred  to  a  Committee  of 
the  City  Council,  consisting  of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Loring  and 
Upham,  and  Messrs.  Moody,  E.  Williams,  Means,  Pickman,  and 
Pratt,  of  the  Common  Council,  who,  on  the  sixth  of  October, 
reported  at  large,  stating  the  importance  of  this  space  to  the  city 
as  a  possession,  its  prospective,  increasing  value,  and  that  its 
local  relations  were  such,  that  there  seemed  to  be  no  possible 
state  of  things  in  which  it  could  be  wise  for  the  city  to  abandon 
the  control  of  it,  which  it  now  possesses  by  its  right  of  property. 
Lying  at  the  head  or  junction  of  five  of  the  most  thronged  and 
busy  streets  of  the  city,  now  called  Commercial,  Clinton,  North 
and  South  Market,  and  Chatham  Streets,  the  efficient  and  per- 
manent control  of  that  space  was  deemed  peculiarly  important 
to  be  retained  in  the  city  government,  from  its  very  location, 
with  reference  to  the  general  business  of  that  part  of  the  city ; 
but  when,  in  addition  to  this,  the  fact  is  considered  that  it  con- 
tains the  whole  space  lying  between  the  New  City  Market  and 
the  Channel,  and  that  this  is  the  only  space  within  which  the 
market  itself  can  be  extended,  or  the  accommodations  of  those 
doing  business  in  it  enlarged,  should  the  increasing  greatness  of 
the  city  render  it  necessary,  it  seemed  to  the  Committee,  that 
on  this  account  alone,  the  city  could  not,  in  any  state  of  things, 
be  justified  in  divesting  itself  of  the  fee  it  had  acquired  in  this 
property.  The  idea  of  selling  these  wharf  rights  could  not, 
therefore,  be  entertained.  The  expediency  of  leasing  them  to 
others,  rather  than  to  undertake  filling  them  up  on  the  account 
of  the  city,  having  been  urged  upon  the  Committee,  they  declared 
that,  in  their  opinion,  the  relation  of  this  property  was  such, 
that  its  value  and  importance,  either  as  a  property  or  a  posses- 
sion, could  not  be  well  understood  previously  to  its  being  filled 
up  and  actually  occupied ;  and  the  control  of  it,  in  their  judg- 


244  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

ment,  ought  not,  even  temporarily,  to  be  put  out  of  the  power  of 
the  city,  until  its  value  and  importance  should  be  tested  by  act- 
ual experience.  They,  therefore,  recommended  that  measures 
should  be  adopted  without  delay  by  the  city,  for  filling  up  the 
space  on  its  own  account,  before  entering  upon  any  considera- 
tion of  the  subject  of  leasing  it ;  and  they  entered  into  state- 
ments and  reasonings,  showing  that  the  cost  of  filling  up  the 
proposed  space  of  wharf  in  the  most  substantial  manner,  could 
not  exceed  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  that  when  filled  up,  the 
annual  receipt  would  probably  be  at  least  eight  thousand  dollars, 
and  could  not  be  less  than  six  thousand.  The  Committee  there- 
fore recommended  two  resolutions,  —  the  first  authorizing  the 
fiUing  up  the  wharf  rights,  with  authority  to  borrow,  not  exceed- 
ing twenty  thousand  dollars,  for  that  pm-pose  ;  and  the  second, 
directing  that  the  income  hereafter  derived  from  these  wharf 
rights  should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Committee  for  the 
reduction  of  the  city  debt,  until  the  said  income  should  equal 
the  amount  of  debt  created  under  the  first  resolution.  This 
report  was  accepted,  and  the  resolutions  passed  unanimously  in 
both  branches  of  the  City  Council ;  and  the  Committee  who 
reported  the  resolutions  were  authorized  to  carry  them  into 
effect. 

There  were  at  this  time  active  influences  without  doors  at 
work  to  induce  the  City  Council  to  make  sale  of  these  wharf 
and  dockage  rights.  Capitalists  see  early  and  clearly  the  value 
of  choice  locations  for  business  and  investment.  And,  in  rela- 
tion to  city  property,  if  the  City  Council  can  be  prevailed  upon 
by  temptations  of  a  higher  price  than,  at  the  time  the  average 
rate  of  land  in  the  vicinity  commands,  by  the  desire  to  diminish 
the  amount  of  taxation  for  the  passing  year,  or  to  reduce  the 
city  debt,  the  more  important  consideration  of  the  permanent 
value  of  precious  localities  to  the  general  interests  of  the  city  is 
apt  to  be  disregarded,  wiien  weighed  in  the  scale  against  tem- 
porary advantage  or  popularity.  In  this  case,  the  sale  of  these 
fiats  was  pressed  upon  the  Mayor  and  other  members  of  the 
Committee  with  urgency.  The  idea  of  ever  obtaining  an 
income  from  them  of  eight  thousand  dollars  was  ridiculed.  The 
popularity  to  be  obtained  by  an  immediate  large  reduction  of 
the  debt  incurred  by  erecting  the  New  Market  was  set  forth  in 
strong  lights.    The  actual  result  will  be  the  best  comment  on  the 


CITY   GOVERNMENT,  245 

wisdom  and  firmness  of  the  City  Council.  The  flats  were  filled 
up  at  an  expense  of  less  than  nineteen  thousand  dollars ;  and  in 
September,  1832,  the  then  City  Council  leased  the  wharf  and 
dock  rights  for  twenty  years  on  an  annual  rent  of  ten  thousand 
dollars,  on  condition  that  ten  substantial  brick  stores,  to  the 
acceptance  of  the  City  Council,  should  be  built  thereon,  and 
kept  insured  and  in  good  order,  and  should  revert  to  the  city  in 
fee  simple  at  the  end  of  the  lease.  In  September,  1852,  this 
wharf,  dock  rights,  and  stores  will  consequently  revert  to  the 
city,  and  thus  a  property,  which,  in  1826,  the  City  Council  did  not 
venture  to  estimate  higher  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  has, 
by  the  wisdom  and  foresight  of  successive  City  Councils,  risen, 
at  this  day,  to  the  value  of  at  least  four  hundred  thousand 
dollars?- 

1  See  page  203. 


2\ 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

CITY  GOVERNMENT.     1828. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mayor. 

The  Annexation  of  South  Boston  to  the  Ancient  City,  and  the  Difficulties 
attending  it  —  Project  of  Semi- Annual  Sales  of  Domestic  Manufactures  in 
the  Ciiij — The  Hall  over  the  New  Market  appropriated  for  the  Object  — 
Question  concerning  the  Ehgibility  of  Members  of  the  City  Council  to  City 
Offices  —  State  and  Progress  of  the  Fire  Department  —  Resignation  of  the 
Cliief  Engineer  —  His  Gratuitous  Services  —  Vote  of  Thanks  to  him  by  the 
City  Council  —  Prosperous  State  of  City  Affairs  —  The  Mayor  decHnes  being 
a  Candidate  for  Reelection  —  Harrison  Gray  Otis  chosen  Mayor. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  present  centmy,  the  tract  of 
land,  now  called  South  Boston,  was  a  part  of  the  town  of 
Dorchester,  and  inhabited  by  a  few  families,  chiefly  engaged  in 
agriculture.  At  that  period,  it  was  purchased  by  a  number  of 
enterprising  citizens,  most  of  whom  were  capitalists,  who  ob- 
tained from  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  a  vote  authorizing  an 
application  to  the  Legislatm'e  of  the  State  for  its  annexation 
to  that  town.  As  the  original  project  contemplated  the  erection 
of  a  bridge  from  South  Street,  or  Sea  Sti'eet,  to  South  Boston, 
a  violent  opposition  to  the  plan  arose  among  the  proprietors 
of  wharves  lying  above  the  proposed  site.  After  warm  discus- 
sions in  the  public  newspapers  and  town  meetings,  the  propo- 
sition resulted  in  a  compromise,  fixing  the  locality  of  the  bridge 
above  most  of  the  wharves,  whose  proprietors  were  thus  relieved 
from  the  apprehended  obstruction  of  the  channel;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  the  expectations  of  immediate  profit  formed  by  the 
original  associates  in  the  project  were  materially  diminished.  To 
carry  into  effect  the  compromise,  three  acts  were  passed  by  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  on  the  same  day  (sixth  of  March,  1804.) 
By  the  first,  the  part  of  Dorchester  now  called  South  Boston 
was  annexed  to  Boston.  By  the  second,  the  proprietors  of  the 
purchased  lands  were  constituted  a  corporation,  with  authority 
to  erect  a  bridge  from  the  southwesterly  part  of  Boston  to  Dor- 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  247 

Chester  Neck.  By  the  third,  the  proprietors  of  certain  lands  at 
the  south  part  of  Boston  were  authorized  to  open  a  street  from 
Rainsford  Lane  to  the  proposed  site  of  the  new  bridge. 

The  several  powers  granted  by  these  acts  were  executed,  in 
conformity  with  the  compromise.  The  population  of  South 
Boston  gradually  increased  until  the  year  1822,  when  the  pro- 
ject of  building  a  bridge  from  South  or  Sea  Street  revived,  and 
constituted  one  of  the  most  important  and  exciting  topics  of 
discussion  during  the  two  first  administrations  of  the  city  go- 
vernment. All  the  bitter  animosities  and  apprehensions  were 
renewed,  which  the  compromise  of  1804  had  allayed.  No  effi- 
cient support  was,  however,  obtained  for  the  measure  until 
March,  1824.  A  petition  from  the  inhabitants  of  South  Boston 
was  then  presented  to  a  general  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  city,  and  a  vote  was  passed,  after  several  days  debate,  by 
a  great  majority  —  2,487  in  the  affirmative,  779  in  the  negative 
—  requesting  the  City  Government  to  petition  the  Legislature  for 
liberty  to  erect  the  proposed  bridge.  The  City  Council  pre- 
pared and  presented  a  petition,  in  conformity  with  the  vote  of 
the  citizens  ;  but  the  conflicting  passions  and  interests  the  sub- 
ject excited  succeeded  in  postponing  any  conclusive  measure 
until  the  twenty -fifth  of  February,  1825.  A  bill  then  passed  the 
Legislature,  authorizing  the  city  to  build  a  bridge,  to  be  free  of 
toll  from  or  near  Sea  or  South  Street  to  South  Boston.  This  act 
was  referred  in  the  City  Council  to,  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Bax- 
ter, Odiorne,  and  Child,  and  to  S.  K.  Williams,  Russell,  Ballard, 
Lodge,  and  Lincoln  of  the  Common  Council.  They  reported, 
that  the  City  ought  not  to  erect  the  bridge,  but  recommended 
that  a  committee  should  be  appointed  to  advertise  for  proposals 
to  build  it,  indemnify  the  City  from  all  expenses,  and  compen- 
sation for  damages,  and  to  comply  with  all  the  requisitions  of 
the  act  of  the  Legislature.  The  Committee  who  made  this 
report  were  authorized  by  the  City  Council  to  issue  such  pro- 
posals. On  the  sixteenth  of  May,  they  stated  to  that  body,  that 
they  had  issued  and  advertised  for  proposals,  but  no  application 
of  any  kind  had  been  received  in  reference  to  the  object ;  and, 
therefore,  recommended  to  the  City  Council  to  take  no  farther 
measm-es  on  the  subject.  This  report  was  accepted  in  both 
branches. 

Other  attempts  to  harmonize  these  conflicting  interests,  such  as 


248  MUNICIPAL  mSTORY. 

appointing  commissioners,  and  endeavoring  to  purchase  South 
Boston  Bridge  by  means  of  subscriptions,  were  wholly  unsuc- 
cessful. The  friends  of  the  original  project,  therefore,  applied  to 
the  Legislature,  and,  by  an  act  passed  in  March,  1826,  obtained 
a  repeal  of  the  act  of  February,  1825,  and  an  authority  for  the 
petitioners,  with  others,  to  build  the  proposed  bridge,  provided  it 
should  be  done  in  such  manner  as  the  city  of  Boston  should 
approve;  —  the  corporation,  thus  constituted,  to  be  subject  to  all 
damages  resulting  from  its  erection,  light  it,  keep  it  in  repair,  and 
provide  facilities  for  raising  the  di-aw,  until  the  city  of  Boston 
should  assume  the  care  of  it,  when  the  corporation  was  to  be 
relieved  from  all  these  obligations.  The  act  contained  also  a 
provision  granting  to  the  city  of  Boston  the  right  to  build  the 
bridge,  if  they  availed  themselves  of  the  privilege  within  three 
months.  As  the  corporation  could  not  proceed  until  the  decision 
of  the  city  was  known,  they  immediately  submitted  the  act  to 
the  City  Council,  and  asked  a  conference  on  the  subject.  This 
application  was  referred  to  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Bellows,  Mar- 
shall, and  Loring,  who,  after  deliberation  and  conference  with  the 
applicants,  reported,  that  it  was  inexpedient  for  the  City  Coun- 
cil to  take  any  order  in  relation  to  the  right  and  liberty  to  build 
the  bridge  conferred  on  the  city  by  the  act. 

The  subject  remained  in  this  state  until  January,  1827,  when 
the  corporation  communicated  to  the  city  government  their 
intention  to  build  the  bridge ;  and,  after  stating  the  material  of 
which  they  proposed  to  construct  it,  submitted  the  mode  and 
the  manner  of  constructing  it  to  the  decision  of  the  City  Coun- 
cil, and  inquired  whether  the  city  would  assume  the  care  of  the 
bridge  and  the  obligation  to  keep  it  in  repair,  light  it,  and  pro- 
vide facilities  for  raising  the  draw,  after  it  should  be  constructed. 

This  application  was  referred  to  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Bel- 
lows, Welsh,  and  Boies,  and  to  Messrs.  James,  Morey,  Russell, 
Phillips,  Hallett,  Howe,  and  Dyer,  of  the  Common  Council.  In 
this  committee  were  discussed  all  the  questions  growing  out  of 
the  inquiries  of  the  corporation  ;  also,  whether  it  should  proceed 
from  South  Street  or  Sea  Street,  and  how  the  expense  attending 
the  enlargement  of  it,  which  was  contemplated,  shou.ld  be  dis- 
bursed ;  and  whether  it  should  be  accepted  by  the  city  even  after 
it  should  be  built  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the  City  CouncU. 
All  these  questions  were  debated  with  great  zeal  by  the  respect- 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  249 

ive  parties.  Several  meetings  were  held,  —  times  and  places 
were  appointed,  at  which  all  persons  interested  might  appear 
before  the  Committee ;  and  upon  most  of  them  the  Committee 
were  nearly  equally  divided.  A  sub-committee  had  made  a 
report  at  large,  and  concluded  in  favor  of  the  bridge's  proceeding 
from  South  Street,  by  a  majority  of  three  out  oi  five.  This 
report  the  Committee  rejected,  and  substituted  Sea  Street  for 
South  Street,  by  a  majority  of  seven  out  of  twelve.  And  on  the 
twenty-second  of  February  they  reported,  by  a  like  majority, 
that  the  bridge  should  be  built  from  Sea  Street ;  and  that,  if 
made  and  finished  in  such  manner  as  the  City  Council  should 
direct,  it  would  be  expedient  to  accept  the  bridge,  light,  keep  it 
in  repair,  and  provide  facilities  for  the  draw,  so  long  as  South 
Boston  should  remain  a  part  of  the  city  of  Boston.  This  report 
was  accepted  in  both  branches  of  the  City  Council,  and  a  series 
of  resolutions  passed,  in  conformity  with  the  recommendation  of 
the  Committee,  specifying  the  mode  in  which  the  bridge  should 
be  built,  and  the  terms  on  which  it  would  be  accepted,  and  a 
committee  of  the  City  Council  and  a  competent  engineer  to 
superintend  building  the  bridge,  and  to  see  that  the  terms  were 
complied  with,  were  appointed. 

Notwithstanding  these  precautions,  when,  in  June,  1828,  the 
bridge  was  offered  to  the  City  Council  for  their  acceptance, 
opposition  to  the  measure  revived,  and  remonstrances  against  its 
acceptance  were  presented.  The  City  Council,  however,  early 
in  July,  discharged  the  Superintendent,  and  the  Common  Coun- 
cil voted  to  accept  the  bridge.  In  this,  however,  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  did  not  concur,  and  appointed  a  committee,  who 
made  a  report,  accepted  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  non- 
concurred  in  the  Common  Council.  The  disagreement  between 
the  two  branches  was  finally  brought  to  a  close  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  joint-committee,  consisting  of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen 
Lo'ring,  Fennelly,  Pickering,  Upham  and  Armstrong,  and  of 
Messrs.  Betton,  Seaver,  Paine,  Howe  and  Pickman  of  the  Com- 
mon Council,  with  full  powers,  to  accept  the  free  bridge,  and  to 
submit  all  diflferences  to  the  arbitration  of  three  persons  mutu- 
ally to  be  chosen,  with  powers  also  in  the  Committee  to  carry 
their  award  into  eflfect,  and  report  the  result  to  the  City  Council. 

Loammi  Baldwin,  Samuel  Hubbard,  and  Willard  Phillips 
were  appointed  referees,  in  conformity  with  this  authority ;  and 


250  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

on  the  seventh  of  October,  ]  828,  the  Committee  reported  to  the 
City  Council  the  award  of  these  referees,  which  was,  in  effect, 
that  "  the  public  convenience  required  that  the  city  should  forth- 
with accept  the  said  bridge,  and,  in  consequence  of  its  unfinished 
state,  that  the  corporation  should  pay  to  the  city  sixteen  hun- 
dred and  seven  dollars,  and  deliver  to  it  certain  enumerated 
deeds."  The  Committee  recommended,  that  a  vote  should  be 
passed  by  both  branches  of  the  City  Council,  authorizing  a  ful- 
filment of  the  conditions  of  the  award.  A  vote  was  passed  in 
conformity  with  this  recommendation ;  and  this  long,  perplexing, 
and  exciting  controversy  was  thus  brought  to  a  final  conclusion. 

The  apparent  intimate  connection  between  the  prosperity  of 
the  city  and  of  that  of  the  manufacturing  interests  of  the  State 
and  vicinity,  led  to  the  expression  of  a  general  desire,  that  an 
attempt  should  be  made  to  foster  those  interests,  by  an  exhibi- 
tion and  sale  of  domestic  manufactures  annually  within  the  city. 
The  Mayor,  coinciding  with  these  views,  in  October,  1825, 
recommended,  by  special  message,  the  subject  to  the  attention 
of  the  City  Council,  and  suggested  the  adaptation  of  the  hall 
over  the  New  Market  to  this  project,  and  the  policy  of  appro- 
priating it  in  whole  or  in  part  to  carry  it  into  effect.  This  com- 
munication was  referred  to  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Bellows,  Mar- 
shall, and  Bryant,  and  to  Messrs.  Williams,  Hallett,  Parker, 
Barry,  and  Boies,  of  the  Common  Council. 

In  consequence  of  this  movement,  various  plans  and  propo- 
sitions were  made  and  discussed  between  the  Committee  or  its 
members,  and  persons  interested  in  manufactures  ;  and  in  Jan- 
uary, 1826,  on  the  petition  of  Patrick  T.  Jackson,  in  behalf  of  an 
association,  for  the  public  exhibition  or  sale  of  domestic  manu- 
factures, the  Committee  reported  that  the  petitioners  should 
have,  for  the  purposes  of  such  exhibition  and  sale,  the  use  of  so 
much  of  the  upper  story  of  the  New  Market  House  as  they 
might  require  for  the  present  year,  not  exceeding  twenty  days  in 
the  spring  and  twenty  days  in  the  autumn.  Their  report  was 
accepted  in  both  branches. 

And  in  the  ensuing  July,  on  the  petition  of  the  Society  for  the 
promotion  of  Manufactures  and  the  Mechanic  Arts,  the  entire 
hall  over  the  New  Market,  or  as  much  as  might  be  necessary  or 
convenient  for  them,  was  devoted  to  their  use,  during  the  months 
of  September  and  October,  for  the  purposes  of  exhibition  and 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  251 

sales  of  domestic  goods  and  mechanic  inventions,  free  of  all 
charges  ;  and,  on  the  twelfth  of  September,  the  first  auction 
sale  under  this  grant  was  holden.  In  January  and  July,  1827, 
the  New  England  Society  for  the  promotion  of  Manufactures 
and  Mechanic  Arts  petitioned  for  the  same  privilege,  and  the 
City  Council  granted  the  use  of  the  hall  for  the  exhibition  and 
sale  of  domestic  manufactures  and  wool,  for  twenty  days  in 
March  and  twenty  days  in  August. 

The  success  of  these  exhibitions  and  sales  led  to  a  petition,  in 
the  ensuing  November,  having  for  its  object  to  place  the  accom- 
modation they  had  received  from  the  use  of  the  hall  on  a  more 
permanent  footing,  which,  being  referred  to  the  Mayor,  Alder- 
men Loring  and  Savage,  and  Messrs.  Dorr,  Russell,  Parker,  and 
Ward,  a  report  was  made  by  them,  stating  that  the  sole  ob- 
ject of  this  Society  was  to  effect,  through  the  means  of  semi- 
annual auction  sales  of  domestic  manufactures  a  change  in  the 
course  of  business,  by  bringing  foreign  purchasers  to  the  domes- 
tic market,  and  thus  relieving  our  manufacturers  from  the  neces- 
sity of  seeking  a  market  in  other  States  and  countries ;  that 
the  Society  had  few  funds,  and  derived  no  emolument  what- 
ever from  its  labors ;  that  the  effect  of  such  semi-annual  sales 
could  not  but  be  highly  advantageous  to  the  progressive  pros- 
perity of  the  city,  and  the  advantage,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Committee,  was  a  sufficient  justification  and  inducement  to 
the  City  Council  for  such  an  appropriation  of  the  hall  over 
the  Market  as  the  petitioners  solicit.  Thus  far,  the  experiment 
of  these  auction  sales  had  been  as  successful  as  could  reasonably 
have  been  expected ;  the  gross  proceeds  of  all  the  three  semi- 
annual sales  had  amounted  to  upwards  of  $956,000.  The 
tendency  of  them  to  bring  foreign  purchasers,  at  the  season  of 
these  sales,  to  this  metropolis,  and  the  effect  on  its  prosperity, 
direct  and  incidental,  were  so  obvious  and  unquestionable,  that 
the -Committee  could  not  hesitate  to  recommend  such  an  acqui- 
escence in  the  prayer  of  the  petition  as  will  place  the  subject, 
at  all  times,  under  the  control  of  the  City  Council,  and  yet  give 
the  petitioners  the  assurance  of  the  permanent  patronage  of  the 
institution  by  the  City  Government,  until  a  future  City  Council 
should  take  a  different  view  of  the  interests  of  the  city.  The 
Committee  recommended  that  the  New  England  Society  for 
the  promotion  of  Manufactures  and  Mechanic  Arts  should  have 


252  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

the  hall  for  the  purpose  of  then'  annual  sales  from  the  fifteenth 
of  March  to  the  fifteenth  of  April,  and  from  the  fifteenth  of 
August  until  the  fifteenth  of  September,  until  the  further  order 
of  the  City  Council,  and  that  six  months  notice  should  be 
given  to  the  Society  of  the  rescinding  of  this  privilege. 

This  report  was  accepted  in  both  branches  of  the  City  CouncU. 

These  semi-annual  sales  not  only  produced  those  advantages 
to  the  city,  which  had  been  anticipated,  but  proved  highly  bene- 
ficial to  the  manufacturing  interests ;  all  the  various  classes  of 
which  were  well  represented  in  them.  They  were  numerously 
attended  by  traders  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  Some 
of  the  best  purchasers  from  the  South  and  West  were  attracted 
by  them  to  the  city,  some  of  whom  became  subsequently  regular 
customers.  The  prices  obtained  were  generally  quite  satisfac- 
tory to  the  owners  of  the  goods,  and  advantageous  to  all  parties. 
Between  September,  1826,  and  March,  1832,  them  were  twelve 
of  such  sales.  The  total  amount  of  the  proceeds  cannot  be  at 
this  day  (1851)  exactly  ascertained ;  but  they  cannot  be  esti- 
mated at  less  than  from  five  to  six  millions  of  dollars  ;  since  two 
only  of  the  auctioneers  ^  employed  in  those  sales,  disposed  of 
more  than  $4,645,000  in  value.  Notwithstanding  this  success, 
these  semi-annual  sales  were  discontinued  in  1832  ;  for  reasons 
never,  it  is  believed,  officially  stated,  but  generally  attributed  to 
the  influence  of  certain  large  commission  merchants  and  jobbers, 
who  imagined  that  these  sales  interfered  with  their  particular 
interests.  This  discontinuance  was,  however,  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  the  opinion  of  many  of  our  most  intelligent  merchants 
and  manufacturers,  who  regarded  these  sales  as  among  the  most 
effective  means  of  advancing  and  prospectively  giving  a  great 
impulse  to  the  prosperity  of  the  city,  as  well  as  promoting  the 
manufacturing  interests  of  the  State.  In  these  views  the  late 
Patrick  T.  Jackson  zealously  concun-ed ;  and  no  citizen,  at  that 
period,  watched  over  the  interest  of  both  with  a  more  practical, 
philosophic,  and  patriotic  spirit. 

In  June,  1827,  a  question  was  raised  in  the  Common  Coun- 
cil, whether  a  member  of  the  City  CouncU  could  be  legally 
appointed  by  them  a  surveyor  of  boards  and  lumber.  The  sub- 
ject was  referred  to  the  Mayor  and  Alderman  Savage,  and  to 

1  WHtweU,  Bond  &  Co. ;  CooUdge,  Poor  &  Head. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  253 

Messrs.  Gray,  James,  and  Morey,  of  the  Common  Council,  who 
reported,  — 

That  there  are  two  clauses  of  the  city  charter,  which  restrict 
the  eligibility  to  office  of  members  of  the  City  Council ;  the  one 
contained  in  the  twenly-Jirst,  and  the  other  in  the  tweuli/second 
section  of  that  instrument.  The  former  is  in  tliese  words: 
"  Provided,  however,  that  no  person  shall  be  eligible  to  any 
office,  the  salary  of  which  is  payable  out  of  the  city  treasury, 
who,  at  the  time  of  his  appointment,  shall  be  a  member  either 
of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  or  Common  Council."  As  the  salary, 
or  compensation  of  a  sm-veyor  of  boards  and  lumber,  is  not  pay- 
able out  of  the  city  treasury,  the  eligibility  to  this  office  of  a 
member  of  either  branch  of  the  City  Council  is  not  affected  by 
the  proviso.  The  remaining  clause  is  in  these  words  :  —  "  And 
neither  the  Mayor,  nor  any  Alderman,  or  member  of  the  Com- 
mon Council,  shall,  at  the  same  time,  hold  any  office  under 
the  City  Government."  The  Committee  were  of  opinion,  that 
the  office  of  surveyor  of  boards  and  lumber,  not  being  created  by 
the  City  Government,  nor  the  officer  responsible  to  it,  is  not  such 
an  office  as  a  member  of  the  City  Council  is  prohibited  from 
holding  under  the  above  recited  clause  of  the  twenty-second 
article  of  the  City  Charter. 

The  Report  was  accepted  by  both  branches  of  the  City 
Council. 

During  the  years  1827  and  1828,  the  spirit  in  which  the  Fire 
Department  had  been  in  the  preceding  year  instituted  was  sus- 
tained and  invigorated.  Mr.  Hanis  had  been  in  each  year  suc- 
cessively reelected  to  the  office  of  chief  engineer,  unanimously, 
in  both  branches  of  the  City  Council.  The  discipline  of  the  de- 
partment had  been  maintained  by  him  and  the  other  officers  and 
members.  In  1826,  one  company  of  enginemen  had  been  dis- 
missed for  insubordination  ;  and  in  1827,  another  discharged  for 
remissness  in  their  duty  as  enginemen.  In  both  instances,  new 
companies  were  readily  formed.  Engine-houses  were  enlarged ; 
the  accommodation  of  the  engine  companies  increased.  The 
great  deficiencies  of  the  old  engines,  in  respect  of  active  service, 
were  supplied.  These  improvements,  and  the  almost  enthe 
change  of  apparatus,  in  order  to  adapt  it  to  effective  operations 
under  the  new  system,  led  unavoidably,  as  has  already  been 
stated,  to  great  expenditures,  wholly  without  precedent  in  the 
22 


254  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

previous  system  of  protection  against  fire.i  In  a  report,  made  by 
a  committee  of  the  City  Council,  the  nature  and  causes  of  these 
expenditures  were  detailed  and  explained.  Under  other  circum- 
stances, the  amount  would  have  probably  given  rise  to  severe 
popular  animadversions ;  but  the  efficiency  of  the  new  system, 
and  the  general  satisfaction  with  its  success,  silenced  complaint. 
The  requisite  appropriations  were  always  passed,  in  both  branches 
of  the  City  Council,  without  difficulty,  and  almost  without  cavil. 
At  this  period,  the  number  of  active  members  of  the  department, 
officers  of  all  ranks  included,  amounted  to  twelve  hundred  strong, 
chiefly  young  men,  under  the  command  of  one  chief,  and  twelve 
assistant  engineers  ;  all  selected,  with  great  care,  from  men  of 
suitable  age  and  characteristic  activity. 

The  whole  Fire  Department  being  in  this  state  of  high  disci- 
pline and  preparation,  on  the  eighth  of  October,  1828,  the  Chief 
Engineer  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Mayor  resigning  his  office,  on 
account  of  the  inadequacy  of  his  health  to  its  duties ;  and,  after 
expressing  "  his  obligations  to  the  officers  and  members  of  it,  for 
their  prompt  and  willing  cooperation  in  bringing  the  new  system 
into  efficiency,"  added,  "  that  the  department  was  adequate  to 
all  the  purposes  of  its  establishment,  and  possessed  a  body  of 
men,  whose  alacrity,  zeal,  and  devotedness  could  not  be  sur- 
passed." The  Mayor  postponed  communicating  this  resigna- 
tion to  the  City  Council,  and  made  various  endeavors  to  induce 
Mr.  Harris  to  withdraw  it,  all  of  which  proved  fruitless.  On  the 
eighth  of  December,  therefore,  having  communicated  the  resigna- 
tion of  the  Chief  Engineer  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  it 
having  been  accepted  by  them,  the  Mayor  transmitted  to  the 
City  Council  a  message  stating  that  "  it  was  now  nearly  three 
years  since  Colonel  Harris  had  been  appointed  to  that  office, 
and  that  during  this  period  an  entire  renovation  had  been  effected 
in  that  department,  the  number  of  its  members  greatly  increased, 
and  a  spirit  of  harmony,  subordination,  and  efficiency  introduced 
into  it  highly  honorable  to  those  who  compose  it,  as  well  as  to 
the  city,  and,  it  was  believed,  universally  satisfactory  to  our 
fellow-citizens. 

"  In  aU  the  arrangements  connected  with  these  improvements, 
the  zeal,  intelligence,  and  ffi-mness  of  Samuel  Devens  Harris,  in 

1  See  page  205. 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  255 

the  office  of  Chief  Engineer,  had  been  conspicuous,  and  emi- 
nently contributed  to  their  adoption  and  success.  At  the  time 
of  his  appointment,  the  expectation  was  generally  entertained, 
that  a  salary  would  be  annexed  to  that  office,  and  the  prin- 
ciple on  which  the  new  organization  of  that  department  was 
advocated  and  adopted,  in  both  branches  of  the  City  Council, 
amounted  to  an  assurance  that  an  adequate  compensation  would 
be  fixed  for  his  services.  He  had,  however,  held  the  office  but 
a  short  time,^  before  he  particularly  requested  the  Mayor  not  to 
bring  the  subject  of  his  compensation  before  the  City  Council, 
assigning  as  a  reason,  that,  having  the  command  of  a  depart- 
ment consisting  wholly  of  volunteers,  he  was  of  opinion  that  his 
influence  and  usefulness  would  be  disadvantageously  affected  by 
his  acceptance  of  a  salary.  The  conduct  of  this  officer,  in  every 
thing  relative  to  the  discipline,  orderly  arrangement,  and  efficiency 
of  the  department,  had  been  so  exemplary  and  disinterested,  that 
the  Mayor  deemed  it  his  duty  to  recommend  the  subject  to  the 
consideration  of  the  City  Council,  that  such  an  expression  of 
their  sense  of  his  services  may  be  made,  as  they  should  deem 
just  and  suitable." 

This  message  was  referred  to  a  joint  committee,  consisting  of 
Aldermen  Loring  and  Hall,  and  Messrs.  Oliver,  Everett,  Means, 
and  Aspinwall,  of  the  Common  Council.  On  the  twenty-second 
of  December,  this  Committee  reported  the  following  order  for 
the  adoption  of  the  City  Council :  — ■, 

"  Whereas,  the  City  Council  hold  in  high  estimation  the  services  rendered 
this  city  by  Samuel  Devens  Harris,  late  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Fire  Department, 
and  are  convinced  that  the  general  spirit  of  harmony,  of  subordination,  and 
efficiency,  which  charactei'ize  that  department,  and  render  it  highly  honorable 
to  those  who  compose  it,  and  useful  to  the  city,  is  to  be  attributed,  in  a  great 
degree,  to  the  intelligence,  the  zeal,  and  active  exertions  of  its  late  chief, — 

It  is  therefore  Ordered,  That  the  thanks  of  the  City  Council  be,  and  they 
hereby  are,  presented  to  Samuel  Devens  Harris,  for  the  faithful,  arduous,  and 
highly  useful  services,  gratuitously  rendered  by  him  for  nearly  three  years,  in 
the  office  of  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Fire  Department." 

This  E-eport,  being  read  and  accepted,  the  Order  was  passed, 
by  a  unanimous  vote,  in  both  branches  of  the  City  Council. 
The  seventh  year  of  the  city  government  (1828)  had  passed 

1  See  page  209. 


256  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

with  great  apparent  unanimity  and  general  satisfaction.  The 
measures,  which  had  been  devised  and  commenced  by  the 
several  succeeding  City  Councils,  during  the  preceding  years, 
were  either  completed  or  in  successful  progress.  The  New 
Market  had  been  finished,  and  aU  the  accounts  connected  with 
that  improvement  were  settled ;  provision  for  the  gradual  pay- 
ment, by  instalments,  of  the  debt  it  had  created,  had  been  made ; 
and  also  for  the  final  discharge  of  that  debt  and  its  accruing 
interest  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  real  estate,  consisting  of  land 
and  wharf  rights,  and  other  funds,  which  the  wisdom  of  those 
City  Councils  had  acquired.  During  these  years,  besides  the 
expenditures  connected  with  the  purchases  and  improvements 
about  the  New  Market,  many  streets,  which  were  great  thorough- 
fares in  various  parts  of  the  city,  had  been  widened.  The  Fire 
Department  had  been  put  into  efficient  operation,  to  the  appa- 
rent satisfaction  of  all.  A  House  of  Correction, 'and  a  House 
of  Reformation  of  Juvenile  Offenders  had  been  established; 
the  House  of  Industry  had  been  completed  and  the  poor  trans- 
ferred to  it,  to  the  acknowledged  improvement  of  their  condition, 
and  the  manifest  benefit  of  the  city.  The  title  to  the  lands 
lying  west  of  Charles  Street,  called  the  Ropewalk  Lands,  had 
also  been  obtained  and  secm-ed.  Deer  Island  had  been  effectu- 
ally protected  by  a  sea-wall  from  the  action  of  the  elements ; 
appropriations  for  that  object  having  been  solicited  by  the  city 
and  granted  by  Congress.  George's  and  Lovell's  Islands  had 
been  purchased,  and  the  title  to  them  transfen-ed  by  the  city  to 
the  United  States  ;  for  whom  also  the  jm-isdiction  of  those 
islands  had  been  obtained  from  the  Commonwealth.  These 
prospective  measures  led,  in  subsequent  years,  to  the  erection 
of  those  efficient  fortifications  which  now  command  and  protect 
the  outer  harbor  of  Boston. 

And  in  relation  to  the  incomes  and  expenditures  of  the  City 
for  the  preceding  financial  year,  William  Hayden,  the  City 
Auditor,  in  his  official  report,  dated  the  fifteenth  of  May,  1828, 
stated  that  "  the  aggregate  amount  of  the  incomes  of  the  city 
had  exceeded  the  aggregate  amount  of  its  expenditures ;  and 
that  the  results  afforded  a  practical  illustration  of  the  msdom 
and  spirit  of  economy,  which  characterized  the  proceedings  of 
the  last  City  Council,  and  led  to  the  adoption  of  a  system  of  self- 
restriction  in  regard  to  appropriations,  and  of  confining  the  ordi- 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  257 

nary  expenditures  of  the  year  within  the  limits  of  its  ordinary 
annual  income."  And  the  City  Auditor  closed  this  report  by 
the  following  remarks:  —  "  It  is  believed,  that  the  results  of  the 
financial  operations  of  the  last  year,  while  they  must  be  highly 
satisfactory  to  those,  in  whose  hands  the  citizens  have  placed 
the  control  of  their  public  funds,  will  have  a  tendency  to  sustain 
that  confidence,  which  the  people  of  this  city  have  reposed  in  its 
government ;  for  they  show  conclusively,  that  while  those  great 
improvements  which  the  public  interest  seemed  most  obviously 
to  demand,  have  been  originated  and  matured,  the  city  govern- 
ment had  not  lost  sight  of  that  point,  at  which  a  system  of  eco- 
nomical restriction  should  commence." 

In  this  state  of  general  prosperity  and  satisfaction  with  the 
affairs  of  the  city,  the  municipal  year  drew  towards  its  close. 
No  other  than  those  general  objects  of  attention,  which  are 
incident  to  every  condition  of  municipal  relation,  appeared,  at 
the  moment,  to  be  subjects  of  general  anticipation  or  desire. 
No  special  cause  of  public  discontent  had  occurred  within  the 
year.  To  apply  wisely  and  faithfully  the  resources  of  the  city 
to  those  exigencies  which  time  must  produce,  and  a  rapidly 
increasing  population  rendered  unavoidable,  embraced  appa- 
rently the  whole  sphere  of  duty  for  the  ensuing  City  Coun- 
cils. 

The  office  of  Mayor  had  now  been  sustained  almost  six  years, 
by  the  same  individual.  The  novelty  of  the  office,  the  diversity 
of  opinions  relative  to  its  powers,  extensive  public  improvements, 
and  many  new  institutions,  had  rendered  his  administration  one 
of  peculiar  trial  and  difficulty.  It  had  been,  however,  power- 
fully supported,  and  to  general  satisfaction,  as  the  results  of  six 
successive  elections  evidenced. 

At  the  usual  period  of  municipal  election,  in  1828,  after  two 
trials,  on  the  eighth  ^  and  fifteenth  ^  of  December,  it  appeared 
that  the  Mayor  had  not  received  the  majority  of  votes,  which 
the  law  required  for  his  reelection,  although  in  both  the  number 

1  The  whole  number  of  votes  cast  on  this  trial  was         .  .         4,082 

Requisite  to  a  choice,  .  .  .      2,042 

Of  which  Josiah  Quincy  had   .  .  .  .         1,959 

2  The  whole  number  of  votes  cast  on  this  trial  was  .  5,253 

Requisite  to  a  choice,  .  .  .  2,627 

Of  which  Josiah  Quincy  had  .  .  .  2,561 

22* 


258  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

closely  approximated  to  it.     As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  last  result 
was  known,  he  sent  to  the  press  the  following  note  :  — 

TO    THE    CITIZENS    OF    BOSTON. 

After  the  result  of  the  recent  elections,  I  deem  myself  at  liberty 
to  decline,  —  as  I  now  do, —  being  any  longer  a  candidate  for 
the  office  of  Mayor. 

To  the   end,  that  no  future   candidate  may  be  deprived  of 
votes,  cast  in  my  favor,"  I  deem  it  proper  to  state,  that  no  consi- 
deration will  induce  me  again  to  accept  that  office. 
Very  respectfully, 

I  am  your  fellow  citizen, 

JOSIAH    QuiNCY. 
Boston,  16th  December,  1828. 

On  the  ensuing  twenty-second  of  December,  Harrison  Gray 
Otis  was  chosen  Mayor  without  opposition. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

CITY   GOVERNIVIENT.     1828. 

JosiAH  QuiNCY,  Mmjor. 

Address  of  the  Mayor  on  taking  final  Leave  of  the  Office  —  His  Acknowledg- 
ments to  the  Members  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  Common  Council,  and 
his  Fellow-CItlzens  —  Measures  and  Results  of  the  Past  Administration  : 
for  Protection  of  the  City  against  Fire  ;  and  of  the  Islands  against  Storms ; 
for  the  Health  of  the  Inhabitants  ;  for  Public  Education ;  In  Favor  of  Public 
Morals ;  for  Increasing  the  Financial  Resources  of  the  City  and  reducing  Its 
Debt  —  Principles  on  TYhlch  his  Conduct  In  Office  had  been  guided.  Tribute 
to  his  Successor. 

The  circumstances  which  caused  the  Mayor  to  decline  being 
again  a  candidate,  led  him  tt)  consider  it  due  to  his  associates 
and  himself  to  state  publicly  the  views  and  principles  which, 
during  nearly  six  years,  had  guided  the  administration  of  the 
city  government. 

Having  given  intimation  of  this  intention  to  the  Board  of 
Aldermen,  they  passed  an  order  to  the  City  Clerk  "  to  give 
notice  to  the  President  of  the  Common  Council,  that  the  Board 
of  Aldermen  stood  adjom-ned  to  Saturday,  the  third  of  Janu- 
ary, 1829,  at  one  o'clock,  at  which  time  and  place  it  is  expected 
that  the  Mayor  will  address  the  Board,  previous  to  his  leaving 
the  Chair,  in  order  that  any  gentlemen  of  the  Common  Council 
may  attend  if  they  see  fit." 

Accordingly,  on  that  day,  in  the  chamber  of  the  Common 
Council,  in  the  presence  of  its  members  and  of  other  citizens, 
the  Mayor  delivered  the  following  address  to  the  Board  of 
Aldermen,  who,  after  retning  to  their  room.  Voted,  "  To  request 
a  copy  of  it  for  the  press,  and  that  the  whole  Board  wait  upon 
him  for  that  purpose," 


260  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 


GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  ALDERMEN  : 

Having  been  called,  nearly  six  years  since,  by  my  fellow-citi- 
zens, to  the  office  of  their  chief  magistrate,  and  having,  during 
that  period,  been  six  times  honored  by  their  suffrages  for  that 
station,  I  have  endeavored,  uniformly,  to  perform  its  duties  to 
the  best  of  my  ability,  with  unremitting  zeal  and  fidelity.  At 
the  late  election  it  was  twice  indicated,  by  a  majority  of  those 
who  thought  the  subject  important  enough  to  attend  -the  polls, 
that  they  were  willing  to  dispense  with  my  services.  According 
to  the  sound  principles  of  a  republican  constitution,  by  which 
the  will  of  a  majority,  distinctly  expressed,  concerning  the  con- 
tinuance  in  office  of  pubfic  servants,  is,  to  them  the  rule  of  duty, 
I  withdrew  from  being  any  longer  a  cause  of  division  to  my  fel- 
low-citizens ;  declaring  that  "  no  consideration  would  induce 
me  again  to  accept  that  office."  These  were  not  words  of  pas- 
sion, or  of  wounded  pride,  or  temporary  disgust ;  but  of  deep 
conviction,  concerning  future  duty,  in  attaining  which,  my  obli- 
gations to  my  fellow-citizens  were  weighed  as  carefully  as  those 
which  I  owe  to  my  own  happiness  and  self-respect. 

I  stand,  then,  to  this  office,  in  a  relation  final  and  forever 
closed.  There  are  rights  and  duties  which  result  from  this  con- 
dition. It  is  an  occasion  on  which  acknowledgments  ought  to 
be  made,  feelings  to  be  expressed,  justice  to  be  done,  obligations 
to  be  performed.  To  fulfil  these  duties,  I  have  thought  proper 
to  seek  and  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity. 

And  first,  gentlemen,  permit  me  to  express  to  you  that  deep 
and  lasting  sense  of  gratitude  which  is  felt  for  all  the  kindness, 
support,  and  encouragement  with  which  you  have  lightened  and 
strengthened  official  labors.  In  bearing  testimony  to  the  intelli- 
gence, activity,,  and  fidelity  with  which  you  have  fulfilled  the 
duties  of  your  station,  I  but  join  the  common  voice  of  your  fellow- 
citizens.  With  me,  your  intercourse  has  been  uniformly  charac- 
terized by  a  willing  and  affectionate  zeal ;  leaving,  in  this  respect, 
nothing  to  be  desired ;  and  resulting,  on  my  part,  in  an  esteem 
which  will  make  the  recollection  of  our  association  in  these  duties 
among  the  most  grateful  of  my  fife.  Accept  my  thanks  for  the 
interest  and  assiduity  with  which  you  have  aided  and  sustained 
endeavors  to  advance  the  prosperity  of  this  city. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  261 

I  owe  also  to  the  gentlemen  of  the  Common  Council  a  public 
expression  of  my  obligations  for  the  candor  and  urbanity  with 
which  they  have  received  and  canvassed  all  my  communications. 
It  is  a  happy  omen  for  our  city,  that,  for  so  many  successive 
years,  the  intercourse  between  the  branches  and  members  of  its 
government  has  been  distinguished  for  gentlemanly  character, 
not  less  than  for  official  respect.  The  collisions  which  are  natu- 
rally to  be  expected  in  a  community  where  rival  interests  and 
passions  exist,  have  never  disturbed  the  harmony  of  either  coun- 
cil. When  diversity  of  opinion  has  arisen,  a  spirit  of  mutual 
concession  has  presided  over  the  controversy.  Happy !  if  in  this 
respect,  past  years  shall  be  prototypes  of  those  which  are  to 
come. 

To  my  fellow-citizens  who,  for  so  many  years  have  supported 
or  endured  an  administration  conducted  on  none  of  the  princi- 
ples by  which  popularity  is  ordinarily  sought  and  acquired,  I 
have  no  language  to  express  my  respect  or  m.y  gratitude.  I 
know  well  that  recent  events  have  given  rise,  in  some  minds,  to 
reflections  on  the  fickleness  of  the  popular  will,  and  on  the  ingra- 
titude of  republics.  As  if  the  right  to  change  was  not  as  inhe- 
rent as  the  right  to  continue  ;  for  the  just  exercise  of  this  right, 
the  people  being  responsible,  and  to  bear  the  consequences. 
As  if  permission  to  serve  a  people  at  all,  and  the  opportunity 
thus  afforded  to  be  useful  to  the  community  to  which  we  belong 
and  owe  so  many  obligations,  were  not  ample  recompense  for 
any  labors  or  any  sacrifices  made  or  endured  in  its  behalf.  Is  it 
wonderful,  or  a  subject  of  reproach,  that,  in  a  populous  city, 
where  infinitely  varying  passions  and  prejudices  and  interests 
and  motives  must  necessarily  exist,  an  individual  who  had 
enjoyed  the  favor  of  its  citizens  for  six  years  should  be  deprived 
of  it  on  the  seventh  ?  Is  it  not  more  a  matter  of  surprise,  that  it 
has  been  enjoyed  so  long,  than  that  it  is  lost  at  last  ? 
'  At  no  one  moment  have  I  concealed  from  myself  or  my  fellow- 
citizens,  that  the  experiment  of  a  new  government  was  one  very 
dubious  in  its  effects  on  continuance  in  office.  Who  that  knows 
the  nature  of  man,  and  the  combinations  which,  for  particular 
ends,  at  times  take  place  in  society,  could  hesitate  to  believe  that 
an  administration  which  should  neither  court  the  few,  nor  stand 
in  awe  of  the  many,  which  should  identify  itself  exclusively  w^ith 
the  rights  of  the  city,  maintaining  them  not  merely  with  the 


262  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

zeal  of  official  station,  but  with  the  pertinacious  spirit  of  private 
interest ;  which,  in  executing  the  laws,  should  hunt  vice  in  its 
recesses,  turn  light  upon  the  darkness  of  its  haunts,  and  wrest 
the  poisonous  cup  from  the  hand  of  the  unlicensed  pander; 
which  should  dare  to  resist  private  cupidity,  seeking  to  coiTupt ; 
personal  influence,  sti'iving  to  sway;  party  rancor,  slandering 
to  intimidate  ;  —  would,  in  time,  become  obnoxious  to  all  whom 
it  prosecuted  or  punished;  all  whose  passions  it  thwarted; 
whose  projects  it  detected;  whose  interests  it  crossed?  Who 
could  doubt  that,  from  these  causes,  there  would  in  time  come 
an  accumulation  of  discontent ;  that,  sooner  or  later,  the  ground 
swell  would  rise  above  the  landmarks  with  a  tide  which  would 
sweep  it  from  its  foundations  ? 

In  the  first  address  which,  nearly  six  years  ago,  I  had  the 
honor  to  make  to  the  City  Council,  the  operation  of  these  causes 
was  distinctly  stated,  almost  in  the  terms  just  used ;  and  the 
event  which  has  now  occurred  was  anticipated.  Nothing  was 
then  promised  except  "  a  laborious  fulfilment  of  every  known 
duty ;  a  prudent  exercise  of  every  invested  power  ;  a  disposition 
shrinking  from  no  official  responsibifity ;  and  an  absolute  self- 
devotion  to  the  interest  of  the  city." 

I  stand  this  day  in  the  midst  of  the  multitude  of  my  brethren, 
and  ask,  without  pride^  yet  without  fear.  Have  I  failed  in  fulfill- 
ing this  promise  ?     Let  your  hearts  answer. 

Other  obligations  remain.  A  connection  which  has  subsisted 
long  and  happily  is  about  to  be  dissolved,  and  forever.  To  look 
back  on  the  past,  and  consider  the  present,  is  natural  and  pro- 
per on  the  occasion.  I  stand  indebted  to  my  fellow-citizens  for 
a  length  and  uniformity  of  support  seldom  exemplified  in  cities 
where  the  executive  office  depends  upon  popular  election.  They 
have  stood  by  me  nobly,  and  with  eifect,  in  six  trials  ;  in  the 
seventh,  though  successless,  I  was  not  forsaken. 

To  such  men  I  owe  more  than  silent  gratitude.  Their  friend- 
ship, their  favor,  the  honors  they  have  so  liberally  bestowed, 
demand  return,  not  in  words,  but  in  acts.  I  owe  it  to  such 
goodness  to  show  that  their  confidence  has  not  been  misplaced ; 
their  favor  not  been  abused  ;  and  that  their  friendship  and  sup- 
port, so  often  given  in  advance,  have  been  justified  by  the 
event. 

What  then  has  the  departing  city  administration  done  ?  what 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  263 

good  has  it  effected  ?  what  evil  averted  ?  what  monuments  exist 
of  its  faithfuhiess  and  efficiency  ? 

If,  in  the  recapitulation  I  am  about  to  make,  I  shall  speak  in 
general  terms,  and  sometimes  in  language  of  apparent  personal 
reference,  let  it  be  understood,  once  for  all,  that  this  will  be 
owing  to  the  particular  relation  in  which  I  stand  at  this  moment 
to  the  subject  and  to  my  fellow-citizens ;  and  by  no  means  to 
any  disposition  to  claim  more  than  a  common  share  of  what- 
ever credit  belongs  to  that  administration.  This,  I  delight  to 
acknowledge,  is  chiefly  due  to  those  excellent  and  faithful  men, 
who,  during  successive  years  have,  in  both  branches  of  the  City 
Council,  been  the  light  and  support  of  the  government ;  by 
whose  intelligence  and  practical  skill  I  have  conducted  its  affairs 
full  as  often  as  by  my  own.  The  obligations  I  owe  to  these 
men  I  mean  neither  to  deny  nor  to  conceal.  Speedily,  and  as 
soon  as  other  duties  permit,  it  is  my  purpose,  in  another  \vay  and 
in  a  more  permanent  form,  to  do  justice  to  their  gratuitous 
labors  and  unobtrusive  fidelity. 

Touching  the  measures  and  results  of  the  administration 
which  will  soon  be  past,  I  necessarily  confine  myself  to  a  few 
particular  topics ;  and  those,  either  the  most  vital  to  our  safety 
and  prosperity,  or,  in  my  apprehension,  the  most  necessary  to  be 
understood.  Time  will  not  permit,  nor,  on  this  occasion,  would 
it  be  proper  to  speak  of  all  the  various  objects  of  a  prudential, 
economical,  restrictive,  or  ornamental  character,  which,  in  adapt- 
ing a  new  organization  of  government  to  the  actual  state  of 
things,  have  been  attempted  or  executed. 

I  shall  chiefly  refer  to  what  has  been  done  by  way  of  protec- 
tion against  the  elements ;  in  favor  of  the  general  health  ;  in 
support  of  public  education ;  and  in  advancement  of  public 
morals. 

The  element  which  chiefly  endangers  cities  is  that  of  Fire. 
It 'cannot  at  this  day  be  forgotten  by  my  fellow-citizens  with 
what  labor  and  hazard  of  popularity  the  old  department  was 
abolished,  and  the  new  established.  From  the  visible  and  active 
energy  which  members  of  a  fire  department  take  in  the  protec- 
tion of  the  city  against  that  element,  they  always  have  been, 
and  always  must  be,  objects  of  general  regard.  Great  as  is  the 
just  popularity  at  present  enjoyed  by  that  department,  the  same 
public  favor  was  largely  enjoyed  by  their  predecessors.     Those 


264  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

who  at  that  thxie  composed  it  were  a  hardy,  industrious,  effect- 
ive body  of  men,  who  had  been  long  inured  to  the  service,  and 
who,  having  the  merit  of  veterans,  naturally  imbibed  the  eiTors 
into  which  old  soldiers  in  a  regular  service  are  accustomed  to 
fall.  They  were  prejudiced  in  favor  of  old  modes  and  old  wea- 
pons. They  had  little  or  no  confidence  in  a  hose  system  ;  and 
above  all  they  were  beset  with  the  opinion  that  the  continuance 
of  their  corps  was  essential  to  the  safety  of  the  city.  More  than 
once  it  was  said  distinctly  to  the  executive  of  the  city,  that  "  if 
they  threw  down  the  engines,  none  else  could  be  found  capable 
of  taldng  them  up."  Under  the  influence  of  such  opinions,  they 
demanded  of  the  city  a  specified  annual  sum  for  each  company. 
It  was  refused.  And  in  one  day  all  the  engines  in  the  city  were 
surrendered  by  their  respective  companies  ;  and  on  the  same 
day  every  engine  was  supplied  with  a  new  company  by  the 
voluntary  association  of  public-spuited  individuals. 

From  that  time,  a  regular,  systematic  organization  of  the 
Fire  Department  was  begun  and  gradually  effected.  The  best 
models  of  engines  were  sought.  The  best  experience  consulted 
which  our  own  or  other  cities  possessed.  New  engines  were 
obtained ;  old  on-es  repahed.  Proper  sites  for  engine  houses 
sought ;  when  suitable  locations  were  found,  purchased ;  and 
those  buUt  upon ;  when  such  were  not  found,  they  were  hired. 
No  requisite  preparation  for  efficiency  was  omitted ;  and  every 
reasonable  inducement  to  enter  and  remain  in  the  service  was 
extended. 

The  efficient  force  and  state  of  preparation  of  this  department 
now  consists  of  twelve  hundred  men  and  officers  ;  twenty 
engines ;  one  hook  and  ladder  company ;  eight  hundred  buck- 
ets ;  seven  thousand  feet  of  hose ;  twenty-five  hose  carriages ; 
and  every  species  of  apparatus  necessary  for  strength  of  the 
department,  or  for  the  accommodation  of  its  members. 

In  this  estimate,  also,  ought  to  be  included  fifteen  reservoirs, 
containing  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  gallons  of  water, 
located  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  besides  those  sunk  in  the 
MiU  Creek,  and  the  command  of  water  obtained  by  those  con- 
nected with  the  pipes  belonging  to  the  aqueduct. 

Of  all  the  expenditures  of  the  city  government,  none  perhaps 
have  been  so  often  denominated  extravagant  as  those  connected 
with  this  department.     But  when  the  voluntary  natm*e  of  the 


CITY  GOVElimiENT.  265 

service,  its  importance,  and  the  security  and  confidence  actually 
attained  are  considered,  it  is  believed  they  can  be  justified. 

In  four  years,  all  the  objects  enumerated,  including  ihc  reser- 
voirs, have  cost  a  sum  not  exceeding  sixty  thousand  dollars, 
which  is  about  forty-eight  thousand  dollars  more  than  the  old 
department,  in  a  like  series  of  years,  was  accustomed  to  cost. 
The  value  of  the  fLxed  and  permanent  property  now  existing  in 
engine  houses  and  their  sites,  engines  and  apparatus,  and  reser- 
voirs, cannot  be  estimated  at  less  than  twenty  thousand  dollars. 
So  that  the  actual  expenditure  of  the  new  department  beyond 
the  old,  for  these  four  years,  cannot  be  stated  at  more  than  five 
thousand  dollars  a  year,  or  twenty  thousand  dollars.  Now  it 
will  be  found  that,  in  consequence  solely  of  the  efficiency  of  this 
department,  there  has  been  a  reduction  of  twenty  per  cent,  on  the 
rate  of  insurance  within  the  period  above  specified.  By  this 
reduction  of  premiums  alone,  there  is  an  annual  gain  to  the  city 
on  its  insurable  real  estate  of  ten  thousand  dollars  ;  the  whole 
cost  remunerated  in  two  years.  In  this  connection,  let  it  be 
remembered  how  great  is  the  security,  in  this  respect,  now 
enjoyed  by  the  city ;  and  that,  previously  to  its  establishment, 
two  fires,  —  that  in  Central,  Kilby,  and  Broad  Streets ;  and  that 
in  Beacon  Street,  —  occasioned  a  loss  to  it,  at  the  least  estimate, 
of  ei^hi  hundred  thousand  dollars  I 

Unquestionably,  greater  economy  may  be  introduced  hereafter 
into  this  department,  in  modes  which  were  impracticable  at  its 
commencement  and  in  its  earlier  progress.  Measures  having 
that  tendency  have  been  suggested.  These,  doubtless,  future 
city  councils  will  adopt,  or  substitute  in  their  stead  such  as  are 
wiser  and  better. 

All  the  chief  great  expenses,  necessary  to  perfect  eflS.ciency, 
have  been  incurred ;  and  little  more  remains  to  be  done  than  to 
maintain  the  present  state  of  completeness  in  its  appointments. 

.Under  this  head  of  protection  against  the  elements,  may  be 
justly  included  the  preservation  of  our  harbor  from  the  effects  of 
waves  and  tempests.  By  the  vigilance  and  successive  applica- 
tion of  the  city  government,  the  protection  of  the  two  great 
islands,  on  which  depend  the  safety  of  our  internal  and  external 
roadsteads,  has  been  imdertaken  by  the  General  Government; 
and  works  are  finished,  or  in  progress,  of  a  magnitude  and 
strength  exceeding  all  antecedent  hope  or  expectation. 
23 


266  MUNICIPAL  HISTOKY. 

In  relation  to  what  has  heen  done  in  favor  of  general  health, 
when  this  administration  came  into  power,  of  the  two  great 
branches  on  which  depend  the  health  of  a  city,  the  removal  of 
street  dirt,  and  of  that  which  accumulates  in  and  about  the 
houses  of  private  families,  the  former  was  almost  entirely  neg- 
lected, and  the  latter  was  conducted  in  a  manner  exceed- 
ingly offensive  to  the  citizens.  So  great  was  the  clamor  and 
urgency  of  the  citizens,  and  so  imperious  was  deemed  the  duty, 
that  the  records  of  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  wUl  show  that  the 
present  executive,  on  the  first  day  of  his  office,  indeed  before  he 
had  been  inducted  into  it  an  hour,  made  a  recommendation  to 
the  City  Council  on  the  subject.  From  that  time  to  the  present, 
the  arrangement  of  those  subjects  has  been  an  object  of  inces- 
sant attention  and  labor.  It  was,  untU  early  in  the  present  year, 
a  subject  of  perpetual  struggle  and  controversy,  —  first,  wdth  the 
old  Board  of  Health,  who  claimed  the  jurisdiction  of  it ;  then 
with  contractors,  whose  interests  the  new  arrangements  thwart- 
ed ;  then  with  the  citizens,  with  whose  habits,  or  prejudices,  or 
interest  they  sometimes  interfered.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
country  were  indignant  that  they  could  not  enjoy  their  ancient 
privilege  of  carrying  away  the  street  dirt  when  they  pleased, 
and  the  offal  of  famihes  as  they  pleased.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  city,  forgetting  the  natm-e  of  the  material,  and  the  necessity 
of  its  being  subjected  to  general  regulations,  were  also  indignant, 
because  they  "  could  not,  as  they  did  formerly,  do  what  they 
would  with  their  own."  For  three  years  the  right  of  the  city  to 
control  this  subject  was  contested  in  courts  of  law  ;  and  it  was 
not  until  last  April,  that  the  city  authority  overcame  all  opposi- 
tion, and  acquired,  by  a  judicial  decision,  complete  jurisdiction 
in  the  case. 

Since  that  time,  the  satisfaction  of  the  citizens  with  the  con- 
duct of  this  troublesome  concern,  indicated  not  only  by  direct 
acknowledgment,  but  also  by  evidence  still  more  unequivocal, 
has  equalled  every  reasonable  wish,  and  exceeded  all  previous 
anticipation.  I  state  as  a  fact,  that  in  a  city  containing  probably 
sixty-five  thousand  inhabitants,  and  under  an  administration 
inviting  and  soliciting  complaints  against  its  agents,  —  during 
seven  months,  from  May  to  November,  both  inclusive,  amidst  a 
hot  season,  in  which  a  local  alarm  of  infectious  fever  naturally 
excited  great  anxiety,  concerning  the  causes  tending  to  produce 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  267 

it,  —  the  whole  number  of  complaints  from  citizens,  whose  fami- 
lies were  neglected  by  the  agents  of  the  city,  made,  or  known  to 
the  Mayor  or  to  any  officers  of  the  city,  amounted  only  to  the 
number  of  eight  in  a  7nonth,  or  two  in  a  week,  for  the  whole  city  I 
and  four  fifths  of  these,  it  is  asserted  by  the  intelligent  and  faith- 
ful superintendent  of  the  streets,  were  owing  to  the  faults  of 
domestics  rather  than  to  his  ageiits, — a  degree  of  efficient  action 
on  a  most  difficult  subject,  which  it  is  the  interest  of  the  citizens 
never  to  forget,  as  it  shows  what  may  be  done,  and,  therefore, 
what  they  have  a  right  to  requne. 

I  refer  to  this  topic  with  the  more  distinctness,  because  it  is 
one  of  vital  interest,  not  only  to  this,  but  to  all  populous  cities. 
I  know  not  that  the  practicability  of  establishing  an  efficient 
system  for  the  removal  from  populous  cities  of  these  common 
and  unavoidable  nuisances  has  anywhere  been  more  satisfacto- 
rily put  to  the  test.  Nor  has  the  evidence  of  the  direct  effects 
of  such  efficiency,  upon  the  general  health  of  the  population, 
been  anywhere  more  distinctly  exhibited  by  facts.  I  speak 
before  citizens  who  have  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  these  arrange- 
ments; who  now  enjoy  them;  who  see  what  can  be  effected; 
and  what  is  reasonable,  therefore,  for  them  in  this  respect  to 
claim  at  the  hands  of  their  public  agents. 

I  cannot  close  this  head  without  referring  to  the  tables  con- 
nected with,  and  the  facts  stated  in,  the  address  I  had  the 
honor  to  make  to  the  City  Council  at  the  commencement ,  of 
the  present  year. 

It  is  there  stated  that  the  city  authorities  commenced  a  system- 
atic cleansing  of  the  city,  and  removal  of  noxious  animal  and 
vegetable  substances,  with  reference  to  the  improvement  of  the 
general  health  and  comfort,  in  the  year  1823. 

"  That  the  bills  of  mortality  of  this  city,  and  calculations 
made  on  them  for  the  eleven  years,  from  1813  to  1823  inclusive^ 
show  that  the  annual  average  proportion  of  deaths  to  the  popu- 
lation was  about  one  in  fort i/-tivoy 

"  Similar  estimates  on  the  bills  of  mortality  of  this  city,  since 
1823,  show  that  this  annual  average  proportion  was,  for  the  four 
years,  from  1824  to  1827  inclusive,  less  than  one  in  fifty  ;  for  the 
two  years,  from  1826  to  1827  inclusive,  less  than  one  in  fifty- 
five" 

It  now  appears,  that,  on  the  principles  stated  in  these  tables, 


268  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

for  the  three  years  just  terminated,  1826,  1827,  1828,  the  annual 
average  proportion  of  deaths  to  population  was  less  than  one  in 
fifty -seven. 

Upon  the  usual  estimates  of  this  nature,  a  city  of  equal  popu- 
lation, in  which  this  annual  average  should  not  exceed  one  in 
forty-seven,  would  be  considered  as  enjoying  an  extraordinary 
degree  of  health. 

From  the  facts  thus  stated,  it  is  maintained  that  this  city 
does  enjoy  an  uncommon  and  gradually  increasing  state  of 
general  health ;  and  that  for  the  four  last  years  it  -has  been 
unexampled.  And  although  the  whole  of  this  important  im- 
provement in  the  general  health  of  the  city  is  not  attributed  to 
the  measures  of  the  police,  yet  since,  in  the  year  1823,  a  system 
was  adopted  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  disease,  by 
an  efficient  and  timely  removal  of  nuisances,  it  is  just  and  rea- 
sonable to  claim  for  that  system  a  portion  of  thcjcredit  for  that 
freedom  from  disease,  which,  subsequently  to  their  adoption, 
has  resulted  in  a  degree  so  extraordinary. 

The  residue  of  what  was  then  said  upon  this  topic,  I  repeat, 
as  being  important  enough  to  be  reiterated. 

"  I  am  thus  distinct  in  alluding  to  this  subject,  because  the 
removal  of  the  nuisances  of  a  city  is  a  laborious,  difficult,  and 
repulsive  service,  requiring  much  previous  arrangement  and  con- 
stant vigilance,  and  is  attended  with  frequent  disappointment 
of  endeavors,  whence  it  happens  there  is  a  perpetual  natural 
tendency  in  those  intrusted  with  municipal  affairs,  to  throw  the 
trouble  and  responsibility  of  it  upon  subordinate  agents  and 
contractors ;  and  very  plausible  arguments  of  economy  may  be 
adduced  in  favor  of  such  a  system.  But  if  experience  and  reflec- 
tion have  given  certainty  to  my  mind  upon  any  subject,  it  is 
upon  this  ;  that  upon  the  right  conduct  of  this  branch  of  the 
police,  the  executive  powers  of  a  city  should  be  made  directly 
responsible,  more  than  for  any  other ;  and  that  it  can  never,  for 
any  great  length  of  time,  be  executed  well,  except  by  agents 
under  its  immediate  control ;  and  whose  labors  it  may  command 
at  all  times,  in  any  way  which  the  necessities,  continually  vary- 
ing, and  often  impossible  to  be  anticipated,  of  a  city,  in  this 
respect  require." 

"  In  the  whole  sphere  of  municipal  duties,  there  are  none 
more  important  than  those  which  relate  to  the  removal  of  those 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  269 

substances  whose  exhalations  injuriously  affect  the  air.  A  pure 
atmosphere  is  to  a  city  what  a  good  conscience  is  to  an  indivi- 
dual, —  a  perpetual  source  of  comfort,  tranquillity,  and  self- 
respect." 

In  relation  to  what  has  been  done  for  the  support  of  public 
education,  considering  the  multiplied  and  pressing  objects  of 
attention,  necessarily  occurring  in  the  first  years  of  a  new  organ- 
ization of  government,  I  know  not  that  a  greater  degree  of  sup- 
port of  this  branch  of  public  ser^dce  could  have  been  justly  given 
or  reasonably  expected  than  has  occurred.  Under  our  ancient 
institutions,  the  scale  of  appropriations  for  this  object  was,  of  all 
others,  the  most  liberal  and  complete.  It  was  found,  in  1823, 
with  an  annual  expenditure  of  forty-four  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars.  It  is  left,  at  this  day,  T\dth  one  of  fifty-six  thousand 
dollars.  In  the  inters-al,  fsvo  schoolhouses  have  been  built  and 
sites  purchased  at  an  additional  direct  expenditure  of  upwards 
of  fifty-five  thousand  dollars.  Li  addition  to  which  the  House 
of  Reformation  of  Juvenile  Offenders,  which  is,  in  fact,  a  school 
of  most  important  character,  has  been  established  and  supported 
at  an  expense  already  incurred  of  upwards  of  sixteen  thousand 
dollars. 

But  the  High  School  for  Girls  has  been  suspended.  As,  on 
this  topic,  I  have  reason  to  think  very  gross  misrepresentations 
and  falsehoods  have  been  circulated  in  every  form  of  the  tongue 
and  the  press,  I  shall  speak  plainly.  It  being  in  fact  a  subject 
on  which  my  opinion  has  at  no  time  been  concealed. 

This  school  was  adopted  declaredly  as  •'  an  experiment."  It 
was  placed  under  the  immediate  care  of  its  known  authors.  It 
may  be  truly  said  that  its  impracticability  was  proved  before  it 
went  into  operation.  The  pressure  for  admission  at  the  first 
examination  of  candidates,  the  discontent  of  the  parents  of  those 
rejected,  the  certainty  of  far  greater  pressure  and  discontent 
which  must  occur  in  futiue  years,  satisfied  every  reflecting 
mind  that,  however  desirable  the  scheme  of  giving  a  high  classi- 
cal education,  equal  about  to  a  college  education,  to  all  the  girls 
of  a  city,  whose  parents  would  wish  them  to  be  thus  educated 
at  the  expense  of  the  city,  was  just  as  impracticable  as  to  give 
such  an  one  to  all  the  boys  of  it  at  the  city's  expense.  Indeed, 
more  so,  because  girls  not  being  drawn  away  from  the  college 
by  preparation  for  a  profession  or  trade,  would  have  nothing 
23* 


270  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

except  their  marriage  to  prevent  their  parents  from  availing  of  it. 
No  funds  of  any  city  could  endure  the  expense. 

The  next  project  was  so  to  model  the  school  as  that,  although 
professedly  established  for  the  benefit  of  all,  it  might  be  kept 
and  maintained  at  the  expense  of  the  city  for  the  benefit  of  the 
feio.  The  School  Committee  were  divided  equally  on  the 
resulting  questions.  The  subject  was  finally  postponed  by  the 
casting  vote  of  the  Chairman.  As  all  agreed,  that  if  the  school 
was  to  be  maintained  according  to  its  original  conception,  new 
and  great  appropriations  were  necessary,  the  Chairman  was 
directed  to  make  a  report  on  the  whole  subject  to  the  City 
Council.  The  report  indicated  that,  in  such  case,  appropriations 
were  indispensably  necessary,  but  did  not  recommend  them, 
because  a  majority  of  the  Committee  were  not  favorable  to  the 
project.  That  report  was  printed  and  circulated  throughout  the 
city.  A  year  has  elapsed,  and  not  an  individual  in  either  branch 
of  the  City  Council  has  brought  forward  the  question  of  its  revi- 
val by  moving  the  necessary  appropriations. 

No  shield  has  ever  before  been  protruded  by  the  individual 
principally  assailed  as  a  defence  against  the  calumnies  which 
have  been  circulated  on  this  subject.  It  has  now  been  alluded 
to,  more  for  the  sake  of  other  honorable  men,  who  have,  for  a 
like  cause,  been  assailed  by  evil  tongues  and  evil  pens,  than  for 
his  own. 

In  all  this  there  is  nothing  uncommon  or  unprecedented. 
The  public  officer  who,  from  a  sense  of  public  duty,  dares  to 
cross  strong  interests  in  their  way  to  gratification  at  the  public 
expense,  always  has  had,  and  ever  will  have,  meted  to  him  the 
same  measure.  The  beaten  course  is,  first,  to  slander,  in  order 
to  intimidate  ;  and  if  that  fail,  then  to  slander,  in  order  to  sacri- 
fice. He  who  loves  his  office  better  than  his  duty  will  yield  and 
be  flattered  as  long  as  he  is  '.  tool.  He  who  loves  his  duty  bet- 
ter than  his  office  will  stand  erect  and  take  his  fate. 

All  schools  requiring  high  qualifications  as  the  condition  of 
admission,  are  essentially  schools  for  the  benefit,  comparatively, 
of  a  very  few.  The  higher  the  qualification,  the  greater  the 
exclusion.  Those  whose  fortunes  permit  them  to  avail  them- 
selves of  private  instruction  for  their  children,  during  their  early 
years,  —  men  highly  educated  themselves,  who  have  leisure  and 
'  ability  to  attend  to  the  education  of  their  own  children,  and  thus 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  271 

raise  them  at  the  prescribed  age  to  the  required  qualification, — 
will  chiefly  enjoy  the  privilege.  To  the  rest  of  the  community, 
consisting  of  parents  not  possessing  these  advantages,  admission 
to  them  is  a  lottery,  in  which .  there  is  a  hundred  blanks  to  a 
prize.  The  scheme  to  reduce  the  school  to  an  attendance  of  one 
year,  seems  to  be  a  needless  multiplication  of  schools  and  of 
expense  ;  as  it  is  plainly  far  better  that  a  year  should  be  added 
to  the  continuance  in  the  common  schools,  and  their  course  of 
instruction  proportionably  elevated. 

The  great  interest  of  society  is  identified  with  her  common 
schools.  These  belong  to  the  mass  of  the  people.  Let  the  peo- 
ple take  care,  lest  the  funds  which  ought  to  be  devoted  exclu- 
sively to  the  improvement  and  elevation  of  these  common 
schools,  thus  essentially  theirs,  be  diverted  to  schools  of  high 
qualification.  Under  whatever  pretence  established,  their  neces- 
sary tendency  is  to  draw  away,  not  only  funds,  but  also  interest 
and  attention  from  the  common  schools.  The  sound  principle 
upon  this  subject  seems  to  he,  that  the  standard  of  public  education 
should  he  raised  to  the  greatest  desirahle  and  jJracticable  heig-ht ; 
hut  that  it  should  he  effected  hy  raising  the  standard  of  the  com.' 
mon  schools. 

In  respect  of  what  has  been  done,  in  support  of  public  morals, 
when  this  administration  first  came  into  power,  the  police  had 
no  comparative  effect.  The  city  possessed  no  house  of  correc- 
tion, and  the  natural  inmates  of  that  establishment  were  in  our 
streets,  on  our  "  hills  "  or  on  our  commons,  disgusting  the  deli- 
cate, offending  the  good,  and  intimidating  the  fearful.  There 
were  parts  of  the  city  over  which  no  honest  man  dared  to  pass 
in  the  night  time  ;  so  proud  there  and  uncontrolled  was  the 
dominion  of  crime.  The  executive  of  the  city  was  seriously 
advised  not  to  meddle  with  those  haunts,  their  reformation  being 
a  task  altogether  impracticable. 

-  It  was  attempted.  The  success  is  known.  Who  at  this  day 
sees  begging  in  our  streets  ?  I  speak  generally  ;  a  transient  case 
may  occur.  But  there  is  rione  systematic.  At  this  day,  I  speak 
it  confidently,  there  is  no  part  of  the  city  through  which  the 
most  timid  may  not  walk,  by  day  or  by  night,  without  cause  of 
fear  of  personal  violence.  What  streets  present  more  stillness  in 
the  night  time  ?  Where,  in  a  city  of  equal  population,  are  there 
few.er  instances  of  those  crimes  to  which  all  populous  places  are 
subject  ? 


272  MUOTCIPAL  HISTORY. 

Doul3tless  much  of  this  condition  of  things  is  owing  to  the 
orderly  habits  of  our  citizens,  but  much  also  is  attributable  to 
the  vigilance  which  has  made  vice  tremble  in  its  haunts  and  fly 
to  cities  where  the  air  is  more  congenial  to  it ;  which,  by  pursu- 
ing the  lawless  vender  of  spirituous  liquor,  denying  licenses  to 
the  worst  of  that  class,  or  revoking  them  as  soon  as  found  in 
improper  hands,  has  checked  crime  in  its  first  stages,  and  intro- 
duced into  these  establishments  a  salutary  fear.  By  the  effect 
of  this  system,  notwithstanding  in  these  six  years  the  population 
of  the  city  has  been  increased  at  least  fifteen  thousand,  the  num- 
ber of  licensed  houses  has  been  diminished  from  six  hundred 
and  seventy-nine  to  five  hundred  and  fifty-four. 

Let  it  be  remembered  that  this  state  of  things  has  been 
effected  without  the  addition  of  o'ne  man  to  the  ancient  arm  of 
the  police.  The  name  of  police  officer  has  indeed  been  changed 
to  city  marshal.  The  venerable  old  charter  numt^er  of  tiventy- 
four  constables  still  continue  the  entire  an'ay  of  city  police ;  and 
eighty  watchmen,  of  whom  never  more  than  eighteen  are  out  at 
a  time,  constitute  the  whole  nocturnal  host  of  police  militant,  to 
maintain  the  peace  and  vindicate  the  wrongs  of  upwards  of  sixty 
thousand  citizens. 

If  it  be  asked  why  more  have  not  been  provided,  I  answer,  it 
has  frequently  been  under  consideration.  But,  on  a  view  of  all 
circumstances,  and  experience  having  hitherto  proved  the  pre- 
sent number  enough,  there  seemed  no  occasion  to  increase  it, 
from  any  general  theory  of  its  want  of  proportion  to  the  popula- 
tion, seeing  that  practically  there  seemed  to  be  as  many  as  were 
necessary. 

The  good  which  has  been  attained,  and  no  man  can  deny  it 
is  gi-eat,  has  been  effected  by  directing  unremittingly  the  force  of 
the  executive  power  to  the  haunts  of  vice  in  its  first  stages,  and 
to  the  favorite  resorts  of  crime  in  its  last. 

To  diminish  the  number  of  licensed  dram-shops  and  tippling- 
houses  ;  to  keep  a  vigilant  eye  over  those  which  are  licensed  ;  to 
revoke  without  fear  or  favor  the  licenses  of  those  who  were 
found  violating  the  law;  to  break  up  public  dances  in  the 
brothels  ;  to  keep  the  light  and  terrors  of  the  law  directed  upon 
the  resorts  of  the  lawless,  thereby  preventing  any  place  becoming 
dangerous  by  their  congregation  ;  or  they  and  their  associates 
becoming  insolent  through   sense  of  strength  and  numbers.;  — 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  273 

these  have  been  the  means  ;  and  tlicse  means,  faithfully  applied, 
are  better  than  armies  of  constables  and  watchmen.  They  have 
been  applied  with  as  much  fearlessness  as  though  the  executive 
office  was  not  elective  ;  without  regarding  the  fact,  that  the 
numerous  class  thus  ojEFended,  their  landlords,  dependants,  and 
coadjutors,  had  votes  and  voices  in  city  elections.  So  far  as 
these  classes  had  any  influence  on  a  recent  event,  and  it  must 
have  been  small,  the  cause  is  not  a  matter  of  regret,  but  of 
pride. 

Without  pressing  these  topics  further  into  detail,  and  without 
stating  how  the  condition  of  things  was  found  at  the  coming  in 
of  this  administration,  —  because  the  faithful  men  who  executed 
the  ancient  town  government  did  as  much  as. the  form  of  organ- 
ization under  which  they  acted  permitted,  —  I  shall  simply  state, 
in  one  view,  how  the  city  affairs,  in  respects  not  yet  alluded  to, 
have  been  left. 

Every  interest  of  the  city,  so  far  as  has  come  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  city  government,  has  been  considered,  maintained, 
and,  as  far  as  practicable,  arranged.  All  the  real  estate  of  the 
city  surveyed  and  estimated  ;  plans  of  it  prepared  ;  the  whole 
analyzed  and  presented  in  one  view  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
come  after.  The  difficulties  of  the  voting  lists  laboriously  inves- 
tigated, and  the  sources  of  error  ascertained,  and  in  a  great  degree 
remedied.  The  streets  widened,  the  crooked  sti'aightened,  the 
gi'eat  avenues  paved  and  enlarged.  They  and  other  public 
places  ornamented.  Heights  levelled.  Declivities  smoothed  or 
diminished.  The  common  sewers  regulated  and  made  more 
capacious.  New  streets  of  great  width  and  utility,  in  the  cen- 
tre of  population,  obtained  without  cost  to  the  city.  Its  mar- 
kets made  commodious.  New  public  edifices,  in  the  old  city 
and  at  South  Boston,  erected  ;  the  old  repaired  and  orna- 
mented. 

-These  things  have  been  done,  not  indeed  to  the  extent  which 
might  be  desired,  but  to  a  degree  as  great,  considering  the  time, 
as  could  reasonably  be  anticipated. 

But  then,  —  "  the  city  debt,"  "  the  taxes,"  —  "  we  are  on  the 
eve  of  bankruptcy."  "  The  citizens  are  oppressed  by  the  weight 
of  assessments  produced  by  these  burdens."  Such  are  the  hol- 
low sounds  which  come  up  from  the  halls  of  caucusing  discon- 
tent! 


274  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

The  state  of  the  city  debt  has  recently  been  displayed  by  offi- 
cial authority  ;  by  which  it  appears,  that,  after  deducting  funds 
in  the  hands  of  the  Committee  for  the  reduction  of  the  city  debt, 
and  also  the  amount  of  bonds,  well  secured  by  mortgages,  paya- 
ble to  the  city,  the  exact  city  debt  amounts  to  1 637,256.66 ; 
concerning  which  subject,  I  undertake  to  maintain  two  posi- 
tions :  — 

1st.  It  has  not  been,  and  never  can  be,  a  burden ;  that  is,  it 
has  not  been,  and  never  will  be,  felt  in  the  taxes. 

2d.  So  far  from  city  banlvruptcy,  the  state  of  its  resources  is 
one  of  enviable  prosperity. 

It  may  be  stated,  with  sufficient  accuracy,  that  the  present 
city  debt  is  entirely  the  result  of  operations  which  obtained  for 
the  city  the  New  Faneuil  Hall  Market,  the  City  Wharf,  and 
land  north  of  the  block  of  stores  on  North  Market  Street ;  and 
of  those  which  gave  it,  free  of  incumbrance,  the  -lands  west  of 
Charles  and  Pleasant  Streets. 

Now,  this  property  thus  newly  acquired  by  these  operations, 
for  which  the  city  debt  was  incurred,  may  be  exchanged,  no 
intelligent  man  can  doubt,  at  any  hour,  in  the  market,  for  an 
amount  equal  to  the  entire  city  debt. 

The  property  thus  acquired,  now  in  actual,  unincumbered, 
undisputed  possession  of  the  city,  consists, — 

1.  Of  the  Ne^v  Market  and  its  site,  estimated  by  its  annual 
incomes,  ($26,000,)  which  are  in  their  nature  permanent,  and 
must  increase  rather  than  diminish,  at  .         .          |500,000 

2.  City  Wharf,  estimated  by  some  at  $100,000  ;  on 

this  occasion  it  is  put  down  at  ...         75,000 

3.  Eight  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
feet  of  land  on  both  sides  of  the  Mill  Creek,  and 
the  new  streets  now  completing  in  that  vicinity; 
on  this  occasion  estimated  at,  as  an  unquestion- 
able price,  although  its  real  value  probably  greatly 

exceeds  12,000 

4.  Twenty-eight  acres  and  a  half  of  land  west  of 
Charles  and  Pleasant  Streets,  exceeding  1,200,000 
square  feet,  estimated  only  at  ten  cents  ;  which, 
how  far  it  is  exceeded  by  the  fact,  my  fellow-citi- 
zens understand,  is  set  down  at         .         .         .         120,000 

$707,000 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  275 

Thus  it  appears  the  city  is  possessed  of  a  real  estate,  of  an 
unquestionable  value,  exceeding  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars,  as 
an  ojffset  for  a  debt  of  six  hundred  and  thirty-seven  thousand  dollars. 

It  may  confidently  be  said,  that  no  capitalist  of  intelligence 
and  resources,  equal  to  the  purchase,  would  hesitate  an  hour  to 
contract,  on  condition  of  a  transfer  of  that  property,  to  assume 
the  whole  city -debt.  Should  I  say,  he  would  give  a  hundred 
thousand  dollars  as  a  bonus  for  the  bargain,  I  should  probably 
come  nearer  the  truth.  Am  I  not  justified,  then,  in  my  position, 
that  the  marketable  value  of  the  real  estate  acquired  and  left  to 
the  city  by  that  administration,  greatly  exceeds  the  amount  of 
debt  it  has  left  ?  The  scales  are  not  simply  even  ;  they  greatly 
preponderate  in  favor  of  the  value  of  the  property  above  the 
debt.  It  is  no  answer  to  this,  to  say,  that  the  property  thus 
kewly  acquired  is  of  a  nature  or  value  so  important  to  the  city, 
that  it  ought  never  to  be  disposed  of.  This  is  probably  true ; 
at  least  of  a  very  great  part  of  it.  But  what  of  this  ?  Does  not 
the  fact  show,  that  greatly  as  the  marketable  value  of  the  pro- 
perty exceeds  the  debt,  the  value  of  it,  in  its  interest  or  import- 
ance to  the  city,  greatly  exceeds  even  that  marketable  value  ? 
After  this,  have  I  not  a  right  to  assert,  according  to  the  usual 
and  justifiable  forms  of  expression,  under  circumstances  of  this 
kind,  that,  so  far  as  respects  the  operations  of  the  administration, 
now  passing  away,  they  have  left  the  city  incumbered  with  no 
DEBT ;  because  they  have  left  it  possessed  of  a  newly  acquired 
real  property,  far  greater  in  marketable  value  than  the  whole 
debt  it  has  incurred  ? 

Again,  it  has  not  only  done  this ;  but  when  this  subject  is 
considered  with  reference  to  annual  income  received,  and  annual 
interest  to  be  paid,  it  will  be  found  that  this  administration 
leaves  the  city  with  a  property,  in  real  estate  and  bonds  and 
mortgages,  the  income  and  interest  of  which  amounts  to  fifty- 
two  thousand  dollars,  while  the  annual  interest  of  the  debt  which 
it  leaves  is  only  forty-seven  thousand  dollars. 

If,  then,  the  annual  income  of  the  property  left  be  now,  and 
ever  must  be,  far  greater  than  the  annual  interest  of  the  debt 
incurred ;  if  the  newly  acquired  real  estate  is,  and  always  must 
be,  far  greater  in  marketable  value  than  the  whole  amount  of 
that  debt,  has  not  this  administration  a  right  to  say,  that,  so  far 
as  respects  its  financial  operations,  it  has  left  the  city  incumbered 

with  NO  BURDEN  AND  NO  DEBT. 


276  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

If  there  is  no  debt,  then  there  is  no  bankruptcy.  Whatever 
estate  the  city  now  has,  over  and  above  that  which  is  above 
specified,  is  so  much  clear  and  unincumbered  property,  to  be 
used  or  improved  for  its  advancement  or  relief  in  all  future  times 
and  emergencies,  according  to  the  wisdom  and  fidelity  of  suc- 
ceeding administrations.  Unless,  indeed,  that  wisdom  direct,  as 
it  probably  will,  that  the  property  above  specified,  obtained  for 
the  city  by  this  administration,  shall  be  kept  as  the  best  possible 
investment  of  city  capital,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  other  lands 
applied  to  the  discharge  of  the  debt  incurred  for  the  pm-chase  of 
the  property  thus  acquired. 

Now,  what  is  that  clear,  unincumbered  city  property  which 
remains,  after  deducting  that  thus  newly  acquired  ?  It  consists 
of  nothing  less,  as  appears  by  the  official  report  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  PubHc  Lands,  than  upwards  oi  five  million  three  hundred 
thousand  feet  of  land  on  the  Neck  and  in  different  parts  of  the 
city,  —  capable  of  being  sold,  without  any  possible  objection;  — 
lands  belonging  to  the  House  of  Industry,  amounting  to  sixty 
acres ;  and  a  township  of  land  in  the  state  of  Maine,  being 
neither  of  them  included  in  this  estimate. 

Without  taking  into  consideration,  then,  the  encouragement 
given  to  our  mechanic  interests  ;  to  the  influx  of  capital  and 
population,  which  have  been  necessarily  the  effect  of  the  activity 
of  capital  induced  by  the  measures  of  the  city  government ;  and 
confining  myself  to  the  single  consideration  of  the  amount  and 
unincumbered  state  of  the  real  property  of  the  city,  am  I  not 
justified  in  the  assertion,  that  it  is,  in  respect  of  its  financial 

RESOURCES,  ONE  OF  ENVIABLE  PROSPERITY  ? 

But  "  the  taxes,"  "  the  taxes "  are  heavy  beyond  all  prece- 
dent! In  answer  to  which,  I  state,  that  the  taxes  have  not 
increased  in  a  ratio  equal  to  the  actual  increase  of  property  and 
population.  The  Assessors'  books  will  show,  that  the  ratio  of 
taxation  has  been  less  in  every  year  of  the  seven  years  in  which 
the  city  government  has  had  existence,  than  was  the  ratio  of  any 
year  in  the  next  preceding  seven  years  of  the  town  government, 
one  year  only  excepted  ;  and  even  in  this  it  was  less  than  in  one 
of  those  next  preceding  seven  years  above-mentioned.  Compar- 
ing the  average  of  the  ratios  of  these  two  periods  of  seven  years 
together,  it  will  be  found,  that  while  the  average  of  the  ratios  of 
these  seven  years  of  the  town  government  was  ci^ht  dollars  and 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  277 

fifteen  cents,  the  average  of  the  ratios  of  the  seven  years  of  the 
city  government  has  been  only  seven  dollars  and  tivenly- seven 
cents. 

I  might  here  close.  But  there  have  been  objections  made 
publicly  to  this  executive,  which,  although  apparently  of  a  per- 
sonal nature,  are,  in  fact,  objections  to  the  principles  on  which 
he  has  conducted  his  office.  Now,  in  the  particular  relation  in 
which  that  executive  stood  to  his  office,  it  was  his  duty  well  to 
consider  those  principles,  since  they  might  become  precedents, 
and  give  a  character  and  tone  to  succeeding  administrations. 
He  has  uniformly  acted  under  a  sense  of  this  relation,  and  of  the 
obligations  resulting  from  it ;  and  intentionally  has  done  nothing, 
or  omitted  nothing,  without  contemplating  it.  On  this  account, 
it  may  be  useful  to  state  those  objections,  and  answer  them. 
And  first,  it  has  been  said,  "  The  Mayor  assumes  too  much  upon 
himself.  He  places  himself  at  the  head  of  all  committees.  He 
prepares  all  reports.  He  permits  nothing  to  be  done  but  by  his 
agency.  He  does  not  sit  solemn  and  dignified  in  his  chair,  and 
leave  general  superintendence  to  others  ;  but  he  is  everywhere, 
and  about  every  thing,  —  in  the  street ;  at  the  docks  ;  among 
the  common  sewers ;  —  no  place  but  what  is  vexed  by  his  pre- 
sence." 

In  reply  to  this  objection,  I  lay  my  hand  first  on  the  city  char- 
ter, which  is  in  these  words :  —  "It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
Mayor  to  be  vigilant  and  active  at  .all  times,  in  causing  the  laws 
for  the  government  of  said  city  to  be  duly  executed  and  put  in 
force ;  to  inspect  the  conduct  of  all  subordinate  officers,  in  the 
government  thereof,  and,  as  far  as  in  his  power,  to  cause  all 
negligence,  carelessness,  and  positive  violations  of  duty  to  be 
duly  prosecuted  and  punished.  It  shall  be  his  duty,  from  time 
to  time,  to  communicate  to  both  branches  of  the  City  Cou.ncil 
aU  such  information,  and  recommend  all  such  measures  as  may 
tend  to  the  improvement  of  the  finances,  the  police,  health, 
cleanliness,  comfort,  and  ornament  of  the  city." 

Now  let  it  be  remembered,  that  to  the  performance  of  these 
duties  he  was  sworn ;  and  that  he  is  willing  to  admit  that  he 
considers  an  oath  taken  before  God  as  a  serious  affair ;  and  that 
having  taken  an  oath  to  do  such  services,  he  is  not  of  a  spuit 
which  can  go  to  sleep  or  to  rest  after  shifting  the  performance 
of  them  upon  others. 

24 


278  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

As  to  his  "  seeing  to  every  thing,"  who  has  a  better  right  than 
he,  who,  at  least  by  popular  opinion,  if  not  by  the  city  charter, 
is  made  responsible  for  every  thing  ? 

Besides,  why  is  it  not  as  true,  in  affairs  of  police  as  of  agri- 
culture, that  "  the  eye  of  the  master  does  more  work  than  both 
his  hands." 

If  those  who  made  these  objections  intended  "by  doing  every 
thing,"  that  he  has  been  obstinate,  wilful,  or  overbearing  in 
respect  of  those  with  whom  he  has  been  associated,  I  cheerfully 
appeal  to  you,  gentlemen,  how  wiUingly,  on  all  occasions,  he 
has  yielded  his  opinion  to  yours  ;  and  how  readily  he  has  sub- 
mitted whatever  he  has  written  to  your  coiTections.  If  he  took 
upon  himself  generally  the  character  of  draughtsman  of  reports, 
it  was  because  your  labors  were  gratuitous,  and  for  his  a  salary 
was  received.  It  was  because  he  deemed  it  but  just,  that  the 
"hireling"  should  bear  the  heat  and  burden,  both  of  the  day 
and  the  labor. 

Great  assiduity  and  labor  did  appear  to  him  essential  requi- 
sites to  the  well  performance  of  duty  in  that  office.  He  could 
not  persuade  himself  that  the  intelligent  and  industrious  com- 
munity which  possess  this  metropolis  could  ever  be  satisfied  in 
that  station  with  an  indolent,  selfish,  or  timid  temper,  or  with 
any  one  possessed  of  a  vulgar  and  criminal  ambition. 

I  cannot  refrain,  on  the  present  occasion,  from  expressing  the 
happiness  with  which  I  now  yield  this  place  to  a  gentleman  ^ 
possessing  so  many  eminent  qualifications ;  whose  talents  will 
enable  him  to  appreciate  so  readily  the  actual  state  of  things  ; 
who  will  be  so  capable  of  correcting  Avhat  has  been  amiss ; 
changing  what  has  been  \\a'ong ;  and  of  maintaining  what  has 
been  right.  May  he  be  happy !  and  long  enjoy  the  honors  and 
the  confidence  his  fellow-citizens  have  bestowed ! 

And  now,  gentlemen,  standing  as  I  do  in  this  relation  for  the 
last  time,  in  yom-  presence  and  that  of  my  fellow-citizens, — 
about  to  surrender  forever  a  station  full  of  difficulty,  of  labor, 
and  temptation,  in  which  I  have  been  called  to  very  arduous 
duties,  affecting  the  rights,  property,  and  at  times,  the  liberty  of 
others,  concerning  which,  the  perfect  line  of  rectitude,  though 
desired,  was  not  always  to  be  clearly  discerned,  — in  which  great 

1  Harrison  Gray  Otis. 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  279 

interests  have  been  placed  within  my  control,  under  circumstan- 
ces in  which  it  would  have  been  easy  to  advance  private  ends 
and  sinister  projects ;  under  these  circumstances,  I  inquire,  as  I 
have  a  right  to  inquire,  —  for,  in  the  course  of  the  recent  contest, 
insinuations  have  been  cast  against  my  integrity,  in  this  long 
management  of  yom*  affairs,  whatever  errors  have  been  commit- 
ted, and,  doubtless,  there  have  been  many,  —  have  you  found  in 
me  any  thing  selfish,  any  thing  personal,  any  thing  mercenary  ? 

In  the  simple  language  of  an  ancient  seer,  I  say,  "  Behold, 
here  I  am.  Witness  against  me.  Whom  have  I  defrauded  ? 
Whom  have  I  oppressed  ?  At  whose  hands  have  I  received  any 
bribe  ?  " 

Six  years  ago,  when  I  had  the  honor  first  to  address  the  City 
Council,  in  anticipation  of  the  event  which  has  now  occurred, 
the  following  expressions  were  used :  —  "In  administering  the 
police,  in  executing  the  laws,  in  protecting  the  rights  and  pro- 
moting the  prosperity  of  the  city,  its  first  officer  will  be  necessa- 
rily beset  and  assailed  by  individual  interests  ;  by  rival  projects  ; 
by  personal  influences ;  by  party  passions.  The  more  firm  and 
inflexible  he  is  in  maintaining  the  rights  and  in  pursuing  the 
interests  of  the  city,  the  greater  is  the  probability  of  his  becom- 
ing obnoxious  to  the  censure  of  all  whom  he  causes  to  be  prose- 
cuted or  punished ;  of  all  whose  passions  he  thwarts ;  of  all 
whose  interests  he  opposes." 

The  day  and  the  event  have  come.  I  retire,  —  as  in  that  first 
address  I  told  my  fellow-citizens,  "if,  in  conformity  with  the 
experience  of  other  republics,  faithful  exertions  should  be  fol- 
lowed by  loss  of  favor  and  confidence,"  I  should  retke,  —  "rejoic- 
ing, not  indeed  with  a  public  and  patriotic,  but  with  a  private 
and  individual  joy  ;  for  I  shall  retire  with  a  consciousness, 
weighed  against  which  all  human  suffrages  are  but  as  the  light 
dust  of  the  balance." 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

CITY   GOVERKMENT.    1829. 

Harkison  Gray  Otis,  Mayor.^ 

Circumstances  recalling  tlie  Mayor  from  Private  Life  —  Tribute  to  his  Prede- 
cessors —  Views  concerning  tlie  City  Debt  —  On  the  Supply  of  Pure  Water  — 
The  Lnportance  of  Railroads  —  Political  Relations  of  the  State  and  Union  — 
Flats  to  the  Eastward  of  the  New  Market  —  Attempts  to  authorize  Inspectors 
to  place  Names  on  the  Voting  Lists  —  Tribute  to  the  Directors  of  the  House 
of  Industry  —  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Fire  Department  appointed  —  Resigna- 
tion of  all  the  Assistant  Engineers  — •  Petitions  to  extend  AVharves  to  the 
Channel  —  Relief'  to  Sufferers  by  Fire  in  Georgia  —  Petitions  for  a  General 
Meeting  of  Citizens  on  Railroads,  and  for  a  Grant  of  Land  for  their  Accom- 
modation. 

On  the  fifth  of  January,  1829,  the  organization  of  the  city 
government  was  this  year  transferred  from  the  chamber  of  the 
Common  CouncU  to  Faneuil  Hall ;  it  being  the  era  of  a  new- 
administration  of  its  affairs.  After  the  usual  solemnities,  the 
Mayor  delivered,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  assembly  of  citizens 
collected  on  the  occasion,  the  following  inaugural  address  :  — 

GENTLEMEN    OF    THE    CITY    COUNCIL: 

Nothing  could  be  more  unexpected  by  me  than  the  circum- 
stances by  the  result  of  which  I  find  myself  in  this  place.  After 
nearly  thirty  years  of  occupation  in  public  affairs,  with  but  short 
intermissions,  I  resigned  my  seat  in  the  National  Legislature 
with  an  intense  desire,  and,  as  I  thought,  unalterable  purpose  of 
passing  the  few  years  that  might  remain  for  me,  in  a  private  sta- 
tion. The  objects  for  which  I  became  a  humble  actor  in  the 
political  scene  were  attained.     The  tempest  which  uprooted  the 

1  The  whole  number  of  votes  cast  were  4,546,  of  which  Mr.  Otis  received 
2,977. 

The  Aldermen  were,— Henry  J.  Oliver,  John  T.  Loring,  Samuel  T.  Arm- 
strong, Benjamin  Russell,  Thomas  Kendall,  James  Hall,  Winslow  Lewis,  and 
Charles  Wells.    EUphalet  Williams  was  President  of  the  Common  Council. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  281 

institutions  of  the  Old  "World  had  subsided.  The  broils  which 
had  agitated  and  endangered  our  own  country,  and  kept  the 
minds  of  all  who  took  part  in  them  in  a  state  of  discomfort  were 
extinguished.  The  constitution  was  preserved,  the  government 
wise,  and  the  people  happy.  Opportunity  had  been  afforded  of 
supporting,  by  my  feeble  aid,  an  administration  which,  under  a 
different  aspect  of  affairs,  I  had  opposed.  The  public  favor  and 
confidence,  both  in  measure  and  duration,  had  exceeded  my  esti- 
mate of  my  own  pretensions  ;  and  though  it  was  not  to  be  dis- 
sembled that  this  favor  was  in  the  wane,  I  carried  into  retirement 
the  consolation  that  if  my  services  had  not  been  valuable,  neither 
had  they  been  expensive  to  my  country ;  as  I  had  never  sought  nor 
lingered  long  in  any  office  of  emolument.  And  I  indulged  the 
hope  that,  having  done  nothing  to  forfeit  the  approbation  of  ray 
friends,  the  rigorous  judgment  formed  of  my  conduct  by  those  from 
whose  political  system  I  had  formerly  the  misfortune  to  dissent, 
would  not  follow  me  beyond  the  tomb,  and  that  the  candid  and 
charitable  portion  of  them  would  not  finally  withhold  from  my 
motives  and  intentions  the  justice  which  I  have  never  been  con- 
sciously backward  to  render  to  theirs.  From  this  retirement  I 
have  been  called  by  my  fellow-citizens  for  a  short  season,  under 
circumstances  which  make  it  a  duty  to  obey  their  will.  Their 
invitation  was  the  more  grateful  as  it  was  spontaneous.  And 
great  indeed  will  be  my  gratification,  if,  by  cooperating  with 
you,  I  shall  be  considered  as  havings  in  any  reasonable  measure, 
requited  a  demonstration  of  good- will  from  my  fellow-citizens  so 
flattering  and  honorable  to  me. 

It  is  now  my  province,  and  it  will  soon  become  my  duty  to 
communicate  to  you  such  information  as  may  be  requisite,  and 
to  recommend  such  measures  as  may  seem  to  be  conducive  to 
the  best  interest  of  our  city.  But  I  stand  merely  upon  the  thresh- 
old of  an  office,  with  the  interior  of  which  most  of  you  are 
more  familiar  than  myself.  I  can  touch  only  upon  general 
topics,  assuring  you,  however,  that  I  wiU  apply  my  entire  time 
and  attention  to  master  the  business  of  this  department,  and  to 
apprise  you  of  such  details  as  you  have  a  right  to  expect.  And 
the  utmost  exertion  of  my  faculties  shall  not  be  wanting  in  con- 
stant and  united  effort  to  cherish  and  extend  the  prosperity  of 
the  interesting  concerns  committed  to  our  charge.  It  is  indeed 
fortunate  for  us  all,  that  the  administration  of  this  department 
24*  - 


282  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

has  hitherto  been  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  those,  whose 
different  qualifications  were  eminently  adapted  to  the  varying 
exigencies  of  the  station  which  they  successively  occupied.  The 
novel  experiment  of  city  government  was  commenced  by  your 
first  lamented  Mayor  with  the  circumspection  and  delicacy  which 
belonged  to  his  character,  and  which  were  entirely  judicious  and 
opportune.  He  felt  and  respected  the  force  of  ancient  and 
honest  prejudices.  His  aim  was  to  aUure,  not  to  compel ;  to 
reconcile  by  gentle  reform,  not  to  revolt  by  startling  innovation  ; 
so  that  while  he  led  us  into  a  new  and  fairer  creation,  we  felt 
ourselves  surrounded  by  the  scenes  and  comforts  of  home.  His 
successor  entered  upon  office  with  the  characteristic  energy  of 
his  distinguished  talents.  He  felt  that  the  hour  had  arrived  for 
more  radical  reformation,  and  that  the  minds  of  the  citizens  were 
ripe  for  greater  change  and  more  permanent  improvements,  and 
he  devoted  an  assiduity  that  can  never  be  surpassed,  to  a  deve- 
lopment and  application  of  the  resom-ces  of  the  city,  which  have 
materially  contributed  to  its  ornament,  comfort,  health,  accom- 
modation, and  in  all  respects  lasting  advantage.  We  are  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  with  the  monuments  of  this  enterprising, 
disinterested  zeal.  But  they  could  not  be  consummated  without 
expense.  This  affords  to  some  a  serious  subject  of  speculation 
on  the  future,  and  to  others  of  complaint.  But,  after  such  cur- 
sory examination  of  the  state  of  our  finances,  as  time  and  oppor- 
tunity have  enabled  me  to  make,  since  I  found  it  to  be  a  duty,  I 
perceive  indeed  the  necessity  of  strict  economy,  but  no  just 
cause  for  uneasiness  or  complaint.  Documents  just  made  pub- 
lic, show  the  outstanding,  funded  debt  (after  deducting  the 
amount  of  good  and  convertible  securities)  is  about  six  hundred 
and  thirty-seven  thousand  dollars.  For  the  gradual  extinguish- 
ment of  this  debt,  provision  is  made  by  standing  regulations, 
appropriating  fifteen  thousand  dollars  annually  from  the  city 
tax ;  the  balances  in  the  treasury  at  the  end  of  the  year,  moneys 
arising  from  the  sales  of  real  estate,  and  payments  made  on 
account  of  the  principal  of  bonds  and  notes.  This  process  may 
be  accelerated  at  your  pleasure,  by  providing  for  a  more  rapid 
sale  of  the  city  lands.  A  subject  on  which  I  will  be  better  pre- 
pared than  I  am  at  this  moment  to  give  an  opinion.  The  appro- 
priation for  the  expense  of  the  current  financial  year,  which 
begins  in  May,  was  three  hundred  and  tWenty-eight  thousand, 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  283; 

six  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars,  of  which  the  assessed  taxes 
constitute  an  amount  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand 
dollars.  It  is  not  perceived,  at  present,  that  this  sura  can  be 
diminished.  But  while  unceasing  attention  is  due  to  the  devis- 
ing of  ways  and  means  for  alleviating  taxes,  there  is  encourage- 
ment to  presume,  that  if  this  cannot  be  effected  by  lessening  the 
nominal  amount,  an  increasing  population  and  resources,  by 
bringing  to  the  support  of  the  burden  a  greater  contribution  of 
strength,  will  diminish  its  pressure  on  the  individual. 

In  relation  to  the  debt  itself,  it  should  be  remembered  that  we 
retain,  in  a  gi'eat  measure  at  least,  the  value  received.  Our 
money  has  not  evaporated  in  airy  speculations,  or  been  lavished 
in  corrupt  expenditures.  Works  of  permanent  utility  have  been 
established.  The  Market  House,  House  of  Industry,  Prison, 
Schools,  and  other  substantial  monuments  have  been  erected. 
Our  crooked  paths  have  been  made  strait,  and  widened,  and 
new  avenues  have  been  opened.  The  benefit  of  these  and  of 
some  other  improvements  will  extend  to  many  generations  yet 
to  come,  and  those  which  immediately  succeed  should  be  con- 
tent to  share  a  fair  apportionment  of  the  equivalent  paid,  should 
it  be  necessary  or  convenient  to  procrastinate  a  total  redemption 
of  the  debt.  It  is  possible  that  the  scale  on  which  some  of  these 
improvements  were  projected  is  somewhat  in  anticipation  of 
future  exigencies.  But  it  is  doubtful  whether  great  plans,  with- 
out this  ingredient,  would  deserve,  to  be  regarded  as  improve- 
ments, supposing  the  city  destined  to  advance  in  prosperity.  On 
the  other  supposition,  no  great  plan  would,  in  fact,  be  an 
improvement,  for  none  such  should  be  undertaken.  If  a  market 
would  barely  accommodate  those  who  resort  to  it  this  year, 
inconvenience  would  arise  the  next  year.  The  same  remark  is 
applicable  to  school  houses,  streets,  and,  in  a  degree,  to  all  pub- 
lic buildings.  "We  must  proceed  (certainly  with  discretion)  on 
tire  presumption  that  population  and  wealth  have  not  come  to 
a  stand ;  and  if  none  of  us  ^would  now  be  ready  to  surrender 
these  appendages  in  return  for  the  price  of  the  purchase,  that 
consideration  should  go  far  towards  reconciling  us  to  the  condi- 
tions on  which  we  have  obtained  them. 

From  the  great  improvements  which  were  requu-ed  by  the 
necessities  of  the  city,  two  inconveniences  have  arisen  which 
were  unavoidable,  and  will,  it  is  believed,  be  temporary.     First, 


284  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

a  sudden  transfer  of  value  from  some  parts  of  the  city  to  others, 
by  which  the  proprietors  of  old  estates  have  been  injured,  while, 
by  the  increase  of  accommodation  beyond  the  demand,  the  pur- 
chasers of  the  new  have  failed  to  realize  the  fair  profits  of  their 
investments.  Secondly,  the  city  became  a  purchaser  of  lands  to 
sell  again,  and  thus  far  a  competitor  with  individuals  in  private 
enterprise.  Probably,  therefore,  the  time  has  come  when  pru- 
dence may  recommend  a  pause  from  great  and  expensive 
attempts,  and  it  may  be  incumbent  on  us  who  are  intrusted 
with  this  year's  administration,  to  look  rather  to  the  preserva- 
tion and  completion  of  what  has  been  finished  or  commenced, 
than  to  new  undertakings.  There  is,  however,  wanting  to  the 
city  a  convenience  of  which,  it  is  ventured  to  assert,  it  should 
never  lose  sight,  —  an  abundant  supply  of  wholesome  water. 
The  object  has  been  placed  before  the  City  Council  on  a  former 
occasion  by  my  predecessor  in  striking  relief ;  and'I  am  free  to 
avow  my  conviction  of  the  correctness  of  the  views  by  him 
exhibited  in  relation  to  it. 

Another  object,  however,  is  lately  brought  into  view  by  the 
spirit  of  the  age  we  live  in,  the  importance  of  which,  if  within 
the  reach  of  the  city,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  exaggerate,  —  a 
communication  with  the  country  by  railway.  This  city,  from  its 
earliest  foundation,  has  been  advancing  in  a  regular  progression 
of  populousness  and  wealth.  And  though,  in  both  these  respects, 
it  has  not  kept  pace  with  other  cities,  yet  the  population  has 
increased  in  a  ratio  sufficiently  indicative  of  its  prosperous  tend- 
encies, and  wealth  continues  to  bear  a  greater  proportion  to 
population  than  is  perhaps  elsewhere  to  be  seen.  So  long  as 
these  advantages  shall  continue,  the  growth  of  our  sister  cities 
will  furnish  no  cause  of  envy  or  regret.  The  time  which  has 
elapsed  since  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  enables  us  to  form  a  suffi- 
ciently correct  estimate  of  the  probable  operation  of  cncum- 
stances  on  the  interests  of  this  city  in  any  other  period  of  peace 
of  the  same  duration.  We  have  experienced  all  the  vicissitudes 
of  business  which  arise  from  a  transition  from  war  to  peace,  and 
the  efforts  made  by  commerce,  both  external  and  internal,  to 
adjust  themselves  to  new  positions,  and  to  surmount  the  embar- 
rassments and  consequences  inseparable  from  such  change. 
Among  these,  may  be  reckoned  the  ffiictuation  of  trade  with 
foreign  countries,  the  perplexities  growing  out  of  their  commer- 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  285 

cial  regulations,  and,  on  the  whole,  its  sensible  diminution. 
The  effects  of  excessive  exports  and  imports ;  the  occasional 
drains  and  refluxes  of  specie ;  the  corresponding  increase  of  the 
coasting  trade;  the  alternation  of  scarcity  and  surplus  in  the 
money  market,  by  the  operation  of  the  banking  system ;  the  rise 
and  progress  of  the  manufacturing  interests,  and  the  variations 
in  the  employment  afforded  to  the  middhng  and  laboring  classes 
of  our  fellow-citizens.  The  result  of  these  mutations  proves  the 
condition  of  our  city  to  be  sound  and  vigorous.  Great  fortunes 
are  no  longer  accumulated ;  but  judicious  enterprise  and  honest 
industry  are  generally  rewarded  by  competent  gain.  The  me- 
chanic is  employed,  and  the  laborer  receives  his  hire.  This  state 
of  things  dema/ids  our  highest  gratitude  to  the  Giver  of  all  good, 
and  justifies  the  inference,  that  if  we  can  maintain  our  natural 
resources  and  connections,  we  shall  find  no  cause  for  despond- 
ence. But  it  is  not  to  be  disguised,  that  these  connections  are 
menaced  with  interruptions  and  diversions,  requiring  exertion 
and  vigilance  to  obviate  then-  effects.  All  parts  of  the  Union 
but  New  England  are  alive  to  the  importance  of  establishing 
and  perfecting  the  means  of  communication  by  land  and  water. 
The  magic  of  raising  states  and  cities  in  our  country  to  sudden 
greatness,  seems  mainly  to  consist  in  the  instituting  of  canals 
and  railroads.  The  choice,  therefore,  is  not  left  to  us  of  reaping 
the  fruits  of  our  natural  resources,  and  from  abstaining  from  all 
part  in  these  enterprises.  The  state  and  city  must  be  up  and 
doing,  or  the  streams  of  our  prosperity  will  seek  new  channels. 
We  must  preserve  our  intercommunication  with  each  other 
and  with  our  sister  States  by  the  methods  which  they  adopt,  or 
we  shall  be  left  insulated.  Our  planet  cannot  stand  still,  but 
may  go  backward  without  a  miracle.  The  question  will  arise, 
and  we  must  prepare  to  meet  it,  not  whether  railroads  are  sub- 
jects of  lucrative  speculation,  but  whether  they  be  not  indispen- 
sable to  save  this  State  and  city  from  insignificance  and  decay. 
It  would  be  quite  premature  to  enlarge  in  a  dissertation  on  par- 
ticulars connected  with  this  subject.  Unless  the  surveys  and 
calculation  of  skilful  persons  employed  in  this  business  are  falla- 
cious, there  is  no  doubt  that  a  railroad  from  this  city  to  the 
Hudson  may  be  made  with  no  greater  elevation  in  any  part 
than  is  found  between  the  head  of  Long  Wharf  and  the  Old 
State  House;  and  that  the  income  would  pay  the  interest  of 


286  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

the  capital  employed.  Reports  and  documents  from  commis- 
sioners appointed  by  the  Legislatm-e,  may,  it  is  believed,  be 
expected  at  an  early  day.  Should  they  be  as  favorable  as  is 
anticipated,  to  the  practicability  of  the  undertaking,  they  wiU 
present  to  our  citizens  and  to  us  materials  for  more  grave  consi- 
deration than  can  arise  from  any  other  subject.  I  will  not  trust 
myself  to  express  the  joy  I  should  feel  in  ascertaining  that  the 
undertaking  is  not  only  feasible,  but  within  the  compass  of  the 
resources  of  the  State  or  city,  or  of  enterprising  individuals,  or 
of  all  united,  and  that  they  would  be  so  applied.  These  feel- 
ings, however,  will  never,  I  trust,  stimulate  me  to  recommend 
measures  that  shall  not  have  undergone  and  been  found  equal  to 
sustain  the  closest  scrutiny.  It  is  now  intended,  merely  by 
general  allusion,  to  invite  you  to  turn  your  thoughts  to  the  sub- 
ject, and  to  familiarize  yourselves  to  reflect  upon  the  probable  (I 
may  say)  certain  effects  of  a  communication  whieh,  by  connect- 
ing this  city  with  the  Hudson,  would  open  a  market  to  the 
regions  beyond  it,  and  be  realized  in  thek  immediate  influence 
in  every  house,  wharf,  store,  and  workshop.  Nor  would  the  con- 
sequences be  less  propitious  to  the  country  through  which  it 
Avould  pass ;  converting  its  wastes  into  villages,  its  forests  into 
fields,  its  fields  into  gardens,  and  the  timber  and  granite  of  its 
mountains  into  gold.  While,  on  the  one  side,  public  attention 
will  be  attracted  towards  facilitating  intercourse  by  land,  great 
advantages  would  result  on  the  other,  from  an  extended  plan  of 
steam  navigation  to  Maine  and  to  the  British  Provinces  and  to 
the  Island  of  Nantucket.  The  apathy  hitherto  prevailing,  in 
relation  to  this  scheme,  is  unaccountable.  But  as  the  success  of 
it  can  be  expected  only  from  individual  enterprise,  it  is  men- 
tioned merely  for  the  sake  of  respectfully  commending  it  to  the 
patronage  of  your  separate  opinions  and  influence  out  of  doors. 

Gentlemen,  I  will  now  bespeak  your  indulgence  for  a  few 
moments  upon  a  matter  which,  though  not  directly  appertaining 
to  the  municipal  sphere,  may  not,  when  candidly  weighed,  be 
regarded  as  misplaced  and  unseasonable  on  this  occasion.  It  is 
quite  apparent  to  all  our  fellow-citizens,  that  the  honor  of  the 
chair  which  I  now  occupy,  is  not  the  fruit  of  any  party  struggle. 
With  the  friends  of  former  days,  whose  constancy  can  never  be 
forgotten,  others  have  been  pleased  to  unite  (and  to  honor  me 
with  their  suffi-ages)  who  hold  in  high  disapprobation  the  part  I 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  287 

formerly  took  in  political  affairs.  Their  support  of  mc  on  this 
occasion  is  no  symptom  of  a  change  of  their  sentiments  in  that 
particular.  I  presume  not  to  infer  from  it  even  a  mitigation 
of  the  rigor  with  which  my  public  conduct  has  been  judged. 
But  it  is  not  presumptuous  to  take  it  for  granted,  that  those 
who  have  favored  me  with  their  countenance  on  this  occasion, 
confide  in  my  sense  of  the  obligation  of  veracity,  and  of  the 
aggravated  profligacy  that  would  attend  a  violation  of  it,  stand- 
ing here  in  the  presence  of  God  and  my  country.  On  this  faith, 
I  feel  myself  justified  by  circumstances  to  avail  myself  of  this 
occasion,  the  first,  and  probably  the  last,  so  appropriate,  that  will 
be  in  my  power,  distinctly  and  solemnly  to  assert,  that,  at  no 
time  in  the  course  of  my  life,  have  I  been  present  at  any  meet- 
ing of  individuals,  public  or  private,  of  the  many  or  the  few,  or 
privy  to  correspondence,  of  whatever  description,  in  which  any 
proposition,  having  for  its  object  the  dissolution  of  the  Union,  or 
its  dismemberment  in  any  shape,  or  a  separate  confederacy,  or  a 
forcible  resistance  to  the  government  or  laws,  was  ever  made  or 
debated ;  that  I  have  no  reason  to  believe,  that  any  such  scheme 
was  ever  meditated  by  distinguished  individuals  of  the  old  fede- 
ral party. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  every  reason  which  habits  of  intimacy 
and  communion  of  sentiments  with  most  of  them  afforded,  for 
the  persuasion  that  they  looked  to  the  remote  possibihty  of  such 
events  as  the  most  to  be  deprecated '  of  all  calamities,  and  that 
they  would  have  received  any  serious  proposal,  calculated  for 
those  ends,  as  a  paroxysm  of  political  delirium.  This  statement 
will  bear  internal  evidence  of  truth  to  all  who  reflect  that  among 
those  men  were  some  by  the  firesides  of  whose  ancestors  the 
principles  of  the  Union  and  independence  of  these  States  were 
first  asserted  and  digested ;  from  which  was  taken  the  coal  that 
kindled  the  hallowed  flame  of  the  Revolution ;  from  whose  ashes 
the  American  eagle  rose  into  life.  Others  who  had  conducted 
the  measures  and  the  armies  of  that  Revolution, —  Solomons  in 
council,  and  Samsons  in  combat.  Others  who  assisted  at  the 
birth  of  the  federal  constitution,  and  watched  over  its  infancy 
with  paternal  anxiety.  And  I  may  add,  to  the  best  of  my 
knowledge  and  belief,  that  all  of  them  regarded  its  safety  and 
success  as  the  best  hope  of  this  people,  and  the  last  hope  of  the 
friends  of  liberty  throughout  the  world.     Are  treasonable,  or  dis- 


288  MUOTGIPAL  HISTORY. 

loyal  plots  or  purposes,  consistent  with  these  relations  ?  It 
would  seem  to  be  hardly  conceivable ;  yet  it  is  possible.  The 
lost  archangels  caballed  and  revolted  against  the  government  of 
heaven ;  favorites,  rioting  in  the  sunshine  of  royal  favor,  have 
tui-ned  traitors  to  their  king  ;  and  republicans,  sickening  with  the 
liigher  glory  of  the  love  and  confidence  of  the  people,  have  enslaved 
them  to  factions  and  sold  them  to  tyrants.  Such  foul  conspira- 
cies may  have  been  in  our  time.  But  should  they  be  credited 
without  evidence  proportioned  to  their  probable  enormity  ?  with- 
out doings  as  well  as  sayings  ?  without  any  evidence  whatever  ? 
Secret  cabals  and  plots  are  the  constant  theme  of  suspicion  and 
accusation  in  times  of  pohtical  excitement ;  and  they  can  be  dis- 
affirmed only  by  the  simple  negation  of  the  parties  accused,  until 
the  proofs  are  adduced.  Are  unguarded  shps  of  the  tongue,  or 
passionate  invectives,  proofs  which  ought  to  satisfy  impartial 
minds  ?  Surely,  it  is  not  for  the  honor  or  prosperity  of  this  city 
or  of  any  party,  that  it  should  be  stigmatized  as  the  head-quar- 
ters, not  of  good  principles,  but  of  treasonable  machinations. 
The  discredit  of  the  malaria  once  fixed  would  affect  the  reputa- 
tion of  all.  The  distinction  between  leaders  and  led,  so  insult- 
ing to  freemen  who  are  supposed  to  come  under  the  latter  deno- 
mination, will  not  be  recognized  ;  and  if  you  are  known  to  come 
from  the  infected  district,  those  who  hold  their  nostrils  and 
avoid  you  wiU  not  stop  to  inquire,  whether  the  plague  were  in 
your  own  family. 

I  again  express  my  hope,  that  these  remarks  will  not  be  con- 
sidered iU-timed.  They  are  a  testimony  offered  in  defence  of  the 
memory  of  the  honored  dead,  and  of  patriotic  survivors  who 
have  not  the  same  opportunity  of  spealdng  for  themselves. 
Their  object  is  not  personal  favor,  though  I  am  free  to  admit, 
that  I  am  not  indifferent  to  the  desire  of  removing  doubts  and 
giving  satisfaction  to  the  minds  of  any  who,  by  a  magnanimous 
pledge  of  kind  feelings  towards  me,  have  a  claim  upon  me  for 
every  candid  explanation  and  assurance  in  my  power  to  afford. 

Moreover,  the  harmony  of  our  fellow-citizens  may  be  promot- 
ed by  a  right  understanding  of  these  matters.  The  history  of 
republican  states  and  cities  is  soon  told.  Parties  gi-ow  up  from 
honest  difference  of  opinion  on  the  policy  of  measures.  In  pro- 
cess of  time,  the  subject  of  controversy  dies  a  natural  death  ;  and 
if  personal  animosities  could  be  bmied'  m  the  same  grave  all 
would  be  weU. 


CITY   GO^TERNIMENT.  289 

In  that  event,  the  people  would  have  a  respite  from  party 
struggle,  and  when  new  contests  and  dissensions  should  arise, 
they  would  again  choose  sides  from  principle,  and  take  a  new 
departm-e  from  each  other,  free  from  the  fetters  and  irritation  of 
former  alliances.  The  virulent  humors  of  the  body  politic  would 
not  collect  in  the  old  wounds,  but  be  again  dispersed  and  cured 
by  the  com-se  of  natm-e.  But  this  happy  termination  of  pohtical 
strife,  with  its  original  causes,  seems  not  to  accord  with  experi- 
ence. The  names  and  badges  and  attitude  of  parties  are  pre- 
served ;  antipathies  become  habits.  JNIen  resolve  to  differ  eter- 
nally, without  cause,  for  the  mere  reason  of  having  once  differed 
for  good  cause.  One  portion  of  the  people  is  excluded  by  the 
other  from  the  public  service.  Parties  become  factions.  The 
torch  of  discord  blazes  while  the  fue  of  patiiotism  expires,  and 
the  fierce  and  unholy  passions  which  have  rent  the  Republic  sur- 
vive its  ruin.  IMay  our  beloved  city  prove  an  exception  to  these 
sad  examples. 

Gentlemen,  the  duties  on  which  we  are  about  to  enter  are 
not  classed  with  those  of  high  political  dignity  ;  but  if  they  are 
less  fascinating  to  the  ambitious,  they  are  not  without  attrac- 
tion to  the  benevolent. 

We  are  intrusted  with  the  care  of  institutions  which  have  a 
daily  bearing  upon  the  morals,  education,  health,  and  comfort 
of  our  fellow-citizens.  Oiu  population  exceeds  that  of  more 
than  one  State  at  the  time  of  admission  into  the  Union.  Its 
interests  are  not  the  less  precious,  because  they  are  condensed  in 
one  spot.  While  the  political  government  are  occupied  with 
counsels  which  look  to  the  wealth  and  safety  and  glory  of  the 
nation,  what  better  can  we  do  than  to  consttlt  together  for  the 
happiness  of  those  among  whom  many  of  us  were  born  and  all 
of  us  live,  and  which  is  iiidissolubly  linked  to  om*  own. 

On  you,  gentlemen,  I  shall  rely  for  concm-rence,  in  whatever 
may  tend  to  this  object,  and  I  will  refer  by  messages  to  your 
intelligence  and  consideration  all  matters  that,  by  the  charter, 
requhe  that  dhection. 

On  the  twelfth  of  Janitary,  the  stibject  of  the  flats  lying  to  the 

eastward  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market  came  under  the  consideration 

of  the  City  Council,  and  a  committee  was  raised  and  invested 

with  full  authority  to  fill  them  up ;  and  to  borrow  money  for 

25 


290  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

that  object,  on  the  terms  and  on  the  conditions  and  restrictions 
contained  in  the  vote  on  that  subject  of  the  preceding  City 
Council.  In  October,  the  superintendent  of  these  operations 
reported  them  to  be  finished,  and  the  cost  of  filling  the  flats  up 
as  having  been  seventeen  thousand  three  hundred  dollars. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  the  same  month,  a  petition  from  a 
number  of  citizens  was  presented,  praying  for  such  an  alteration 
in  the  city  charter,  that  the  warden  and  inspectors  in  the  respect- 
ive wards  may  have  the  right  to  receive  the  vote  of  any  person 
duly  qualified,  though  his  name  be  not  borne  on  the  voting  list. 
The  subject  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  both  branches  of  the 
City  Council,  of  which  the  Mayor  was  chairman,  who,  on  the 
second  of  February,  reported  that  "  it  would  not  be  expedient  to 
grant  the  right  prayed  for,  to  the  warden  and  inspectors,  as  it 
would  be  giving  them  the  power  of  deciding  upon  the  qualifica- 
tions of  voters  amid  the  urgent  business  of  an  election ;  that 
such  a  power  would  be  liable  to  great  interruption  in  its  exer- 
cise, under  such  unfavorable  circumstances ;  would  produce  dis- 
putes and  delay,  and  give  rise  to  different  decisions  in  different 
wards  under  similar  circumstances  and  evidence,  tending  also 
to  render  the  lists  of  the  voters  imperfect,  and  in  the  end  useless, 
as  the  citizens  would  be  remiss  in  procuring  their  names  to  be 
entered,  knowing  that  the  remedy  could  be  done  at  the  polls.. 
On  the  whole  subject,  the  Committee  refer  to  a  report  made 
December  twenty-second,  1828,^  to  the  last  City  Council,  (which 
was  then  printed  and  distributed,)  "  for  an  elaborate  exposition 
of  facts  and  principles  relative  to  this  subject."  It  is  on  the 
whole  believed,  that  whatever  improvement  can  be  made  in  the 
means  of  enabling  the  citizen  to  ascertain  whether  his  name  be 
inserted  on  the  list  of  voters,  and  to  enable  him  to  have  it  thus 
placed,  prior  to  the  election,  ought  to  be  adopted ;  but  that  no 
government  is  bound  to  protect  its  citizens  against  wilful  negli- 
gence and  inattention  to  their  own  privileges.  By  this  report 
two  resolutions  were  submitted,  the  first  requesting  and  direct- 
ing the  Assessors  to  take  proper  measures  for  making  out  the 
voting  lists,  in  each  ward,  by  noting  the  names  of  the  qualified 
voters  at  the  time  of  making  out  the  tax  lists,  so  that  the  voting 
lists  may  be  completed  in  each  ward  as  near  as  may  be  at  the 

I  See  page  237.  ' 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  291 

same  time  with  the  tax  lists  of  such  ward  ;  and  that  they  prepare 
and  transmit  to  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  corrected  voting  lists 
of  all  the  wards,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  October,  in  each 
year. 

The  second,  declaring  it  to  be  the  duty  of  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen,  as  soon  as  they  shall  have  received  a  certified  tran- 
script of  the  voting  lists,  pursuant  to  the  preceding  resolution,  to 
cause  a  copy  thereof  to  be  posted  in  some  public  place  in  each 
ward,  and  to  give  public  notice,  in  one  or  more  newspapers  of 
the  several  places  in  which  such  lists  shall  be  posted.  The 
above  report  was  accepted,  and  the  resolutions  passed,  in  the 
City  Council. 

On  the  second  of  February,  1829,  a  committee  of  the  City 
Council  was  appointed  on  the  memorial  of  the  Directors  of  the 
House  of  Juvenile  Offenders,  of  which  the  Mayor  was  Chair- 
man, who  reported,  that  "  they  had  repaired  to  the  site  of  the 
institution  for  the  pm'pose  of  inspection,  and  examining  into  the 
state  of  its  discipline,  government,  and  general  condition,  and 
had  a  full  conference  and  comparison  of  views  with  the  Direct- 
ors and  Superintendents  of  said  House  and  of  the  House  of 
Industry,  with  which  the  same  is  in  some  measure  connected ; 
and  after  due  examination  into  the  premises,  the  Committee  are 
gratified  in  expressing  their  approbation  of  the  fidelity,  industry, 
and  ability,  which  are  manifested  in  the  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  institution,  by  the  Directors  and  other  officers,  aild 
their  persuasion  of  the  real  advantages  resulting  and  promised 
to  the  City  and  Commonwealth  from  the  system  established  and 
enforced  by  those  who  have  the  management  of  it,  in  all  the 
departments  ;  and  that  the  thanks  of  the  community  are  spe- 
cially due  to  those  individuals  who  have  devoted,  and  persevere 
in  devoting,  their  time  and  attention  to  the  advancement  of 
its  interests,  with  no  other  reward  but  that  of  conscious  benevo- 
lence, and  a  regard  to  the  cause  of  humanity."  The  Report 
concluded  with  a  recommendation  to  the  City  Council  to  carry 
into  view  the  measures  suggested  by  those  Directors,  which 
were  presented  in  the  form  of  a  bill,  defining  more  precisely  the 
powers  and  duties  of  those  Directors,  and  of  the  other  officers  of 
the  institution. 

On  the  ninth  of  February,  the  Mayor  nominated  Thomas  C. 
Amory,    Chief  Engineer  of  the  Fire  Department,  which  was 


292  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

concurred  in  by  the  City  Council ;  and  on  the  same  day  all  the 
Assistant  Engineers  of  the  last  year  were  nominated,  and 
appointed  by  unanimous  vote  of  that  body.  And  on  the 
twenty-ninth  of  the  same  month  the  Assistant  Engineers  all 
presented  a  memorial  to  the  City  Council,  "  requesting  that 
measures  may  be  taken,  as  soon  as.  consistent  with  the  con- 
venience of  the  city  authorities,  to  elect  others  to  supply  their 
places  ;  and  that  in  the  mean  time  they  will  act  as  heretofore, 
and  give  all  the  aid  and  assistance  in  their  power  in  subduing 
the  common  enemy."  On  the  twenty-fifth  of  March  ensuing, 
a  vote  passed  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  giving  their  thanks  to  the 
late  Assistant  Engineers  of  the  Fire  Department,  for  the  fidelity 
and  alacrity  uniformly  manifested  by  them  in  the  discharge  of 
their  arduous  duties,  with  an  assurance  of  the  sense  entertained 
by  the  Board  of  the  value  of  their  services  and  example,  in  pro- 
moting the  efficient  organization  of  that  department.  On  the 
same  day,  the  vacancies  thus  created  were  filled  by  electing 
twelve  other  citizens  to  constitute  a  new  board  of  Assistant 
Engineers.  And  on  the  first  of  April  ensuing,  the  salary  of  one 
thousand  dollars  for  the  Chief  Engineer  was  established  by  the 
city  authorities,  to  be  computed  from  the  sixteenth  of  the  pre- 
ceding February,  and  paid  quarterly.  Until  this  time  the  ser- 
vices of  the  Chief  Engineer  had  been  gratuitously  rendered. 

In  February,  1828,  petitions  having  been  presented  to  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  by  the  proprietors  of  wharves  at  the 
northerly  part  of  the  city,  for  permission  to  extend  them  into 
the  channel  of  the  harbor,  the  Mayor,  apprehensive  that  such 
a  permission  might  injuriously  affect  the  free  navigation  of  the 
channel,  requested  the  Legislature  to  suspend  its  proceedings, 
and  by  special  message  brought  the  subject  before  the  City 
Council,  as  being  obviously  of  gi'eat  importance  ;  stating  that, 
although  it  is  quite  conceivable,  that,  in  certain  situations, 
wharves  may  be  extended  to  some  reasonable  length  into  the 
channel  without  detriment  to  the  harbor,  yet  it  may  be  expected, 
that  privileges  granted  to  one  set  of  proprietors,  will  be  claimed 
with  great  importunity  by  others  ;  and  that  embarrassment  may 
arise  to  the  city  government  from  precedents,  established  with- 
out due  consideration;  that  it  by  no  means  follows  of  course, 
that,  because  a  license  may  be  granted  to  extend  a  wharf  in 
a  place  where  the  channel  is  wide,  and  where  the  current  would 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  293 

not  be  injuriously  affected,  a  similar  permission  should  be  given 
in  other  cases,  to  which  the  dimensions  of  the  channel  and  the 
effect  on  the  current  would  present  serious  objections.  Caution 
and  deliberate  examination  by  impartial  judges,  seemed  to  him 
requisite  to  make  proper  discrimination,  to  preserve  limits  and 
terms  to  every  such  license,  as  well  as  to  the  mode  of  carrying  it 
into  effect.  In  some  positions,  wharves  erected  on  piles  might 
be  tolerated,  which,  if  of  solid  construction,  would  bis  formidable 
nuisances.  The  Mayor,  therefore,  suggested  the  expediency  of 
appointing  commissioners,  composed  of  merchants  and  others 
acquainted  with  the  circumstances  of  the  harbor,  to  examine 
and  report  upon  every  such  application,  such  facts  and  opinions 
as  may  guide  the  city  government  in  deciding  on  its  merits; 
and  that  every  permission  granted  by  the  Legislature  should  be 
on  condition,  that  the  work  be  executed  in  a  mode  satisfactory 
to  the  agents  of  the  city  government.  This  recommendation 
resulted  at  first  in  the  passing,  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  of  two 
resolutions,  requesting  the  Mayor  to  present  a  remonstrance  on 
the  subject,  in  behalf  of  the  City  Council,  and  suggesting  the 
expediency  of  having  the  entire  power  over  the  whole  subject 
delegated  to  the  city  authorities.  These  resolutions  were,  how- 
ever, non-concurred  in  the  Common  Council,  and  an  order  passed 
proposing  a  joint  committee  of  the  City  Council,  to  take  such 
measures  as  they  may  deem  proper  to  protect  the  rights  and 
interests  of  the  city,  in  the  extension  of  wharves  into  the  chan- 
nel of  the  harbor,  with  power  to  appear  before  the  Committee 
of  the  Legislature  that  had  the  subject  in  hearing;  and, if  neces- 
sary, to  employ  the  City  Solicitor  to  maintain  the  rights  of  the 
city  in  the  premises.  In  this  resolution  the  Mayor  and  Alder- 
men concurred. 

In  April,  1829,  the  Mayor  communicated  a  letter  from  a  com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  citizens  of  Augusta,  in  the  State  of 
Ge,orgia,  stating  "that  that  city  had  recently  suffered  greatly  in 
consequence  of  a  tremendous  conflagration,"  which  had  con- 
sumed about  two  hundred  houses,  and  deprived  more  than  fifteen 
hundred  persons  of  a  house,  and  praying  relief.  The  City  Coun- 
cil accordingly  ordered,  that  a  copy  of  the  letter  should  be  sent 
to  each  of  the  pastors  of  the  several  churches  in  Boston,  and 
authorized  the  Mayor  to  recommend,  in  behalf  of  the  Boards 
a  contribution  thereon  for  the  relief  of  those  sufferers.     On  the 

25* 


294  MUNICIPAL   fflSTOEY. 

twenty-fifth  of  May,  Alderman  Armstrong,  as  Treasm-er  of  the 
contributions  of  the  several  churches  in  the  city  for  the  relief  of 
the  sufferers  of  Augusta,  stated,  that  the  amount  collected  was 
two  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty-seven  dollars  and  fifty- 
eight  cents,  which  the  City  Council  authorized  the  Mayor  to 
transmit  to  the  Committee  appointed  by  the  sufferers  to  receive 
contributions,  which  was  immediately  done,  and  in  June  follow- 
ing, the  receipt  of  that  amount  was  acknowledged  by  the 
Committee,  in  a  letter  to  the  Mayor,  "  expressing  the  grateful 
feelings  with  which  so  acceptable  a  benefaction  had  been  re- 
ceived, heightened  by  the  reflection,  that  neither  distance  nor  the 
absence  of  intimate  relations  could  repress  an  exercise  of  libe- 
rality so  honorable  to  his  fellow-citizens."  This  letter  was 
ordered  by  the  City  Council  to  be  entered  at  large  on  their 
records,  and  be  published. 

In  May,  1829,  it  having  been  represented  to  tlje  Mayor,  that 
causes  were  slowly  but  certainly  operating  unfavorable  effects 
upon  the  navigable  waters  of  the  inner  harbor,  and  that  the  part 
of  the  channel  extending  from  the  Long  Wharf,  or  thereabouts, 
southerly  to  the  new  bridge  at  South  Boston,  is  gradually 
becoming  more  shallow  from  various  causes  ;  that  vessels  lying 
at  the  wharves  in  that  space  are  endangered  by  easterly  and 
northeasterly  storms ;  and  that  there  is  no  position,  in  that 
quarter,  which  can  safely  be  occupied  by  steamboats,  owing  to 
the  peculiarity  of  their  construction,  he  presented  the  subject  by 
special  message  to  the  attention  and  care  of  the  city  govern- 
ment, stating  that  if  the  fiats,  lying  in  the  channel,  (beyond  the 
reach  of  individual  claims,)  were  the  property  of  the  city,  im- 
provements might  be  made  upon  them  by  means  of  breakwaters 
or  island  wharves,  that  would  afford  effectual  protection  to  the 
wharves  and  harbor  in  that  quarter,  and  obviate  the  increasing 
shallowness  of  the  channel ;  that  such  improvements  might  be 
made  without  expense  to  the  city,  and  possibly  on  contracts 
that  would  afford  some  ultimate  revenue;  that  the  fiats  are 
manifestly  not,  and  can  never  become,  of  value  to  the  Common- 
wealth, except  indh'ectly,  as  they  may  be  subservient  to  the 
safeguard  and  navigation  of  the  harbor ;  and  that  it  could  not 
be  doubted,  that  upon  suitable  application  on  behalf  of  the  city 
to  the  Legislature,  a  cession  might  be  obtained  of  the  flats 
above-mentioned,  and  which,  being  in  possession  of  the   city, 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  295 

might,  under  their  direction  and  authority,  be  converted  to  the 
public  benefit ;  that  it  would  seem  more  proper  and  necessary, 
that  these  flats  should  become  the  property  of  the  city,  inas- 
much as  memorials  are  frequently  presented  to  the  Lcgislatm'e 
for  private  grants  and  immunities,  by  the  proprietors  of  wharves 
and  estates  lying  in  that  neighborhood,  (and  others  may  be 
anticipated,)  of  the  reasonableness  or  injurious  tendency  of 
which,  as  well  as  of  the  limitations  and  regulations  to  which, 
if  granted,  they  ought  to  be  subjected,  the  city  government 
would  possess  the  most  competent  means  of  deciding,  the 
premises  being  constantly  under  their  observation.  The  Mayor, 
therefore,  suggested  the  appointment  of  a  committee,  with  full 
powers  to  apply  to  and  endeavor  to  obtain  from  the  Legisla- 
ture a  grant  of  the  premises,  or  of  a  portion  thereof,  sufficient 
for  the  purposes  above  expressed.  These  views  of  the  Mayor 
were  immediately  carried  into  effect  in  the  City  Council,  by 
appointment  of  a  committee  for  the  purposes  expressed  in  the 
message. 

In  June  following,  the  Committee  reported,  that  the  views 
presented  by  the  Mayor  were  correct,  and  confirmed  by  the 
opinion  of  the  Boston  Marine  Society,  who  had  investigated  the 
subject  at  their  request ;  and  resolutions  were  reported  and 
passed  by  the  City  Council,  authorizing  the  Mayor  to  apply  to 
the  Legislature  for  a  grant  of  the  flats  specified^,  and  the  Sena- 
tors and  Representatives  of  the  city  were  requested  to  aid  in 
obtaining  the  grant. 

In  February,  1829,  on  a  petition  signed  by  the  requisite 
number  of  qualified  voters,  a  warrant  was  issued  by  the  City 
Council  for  a  general  meeting  of  citizens,  on  a  day  appointed 
for  that  pm'pose,  to  give  in  their  ballots,  by  yea  and  nay,  on  the 
following  resolutions :  — 

1.  Resolved,  That  in  our  opinion  it  is  expedient  for  the  Com- 
monwealth to  construct  a  railroad,  on  the  most  eligible  route 
from  Boston  to  the  western  line  of  the  county  of  Berkshh-e,  so 
that,  in  conjunction  with  the  authorities  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  it  may  be  extended  to  the  most  desirable  point  on  the 
Hudson  River,  near  Albany  or  Troy ;  and  also  from  Boston  to 
the  Pawtucket  River,  at  or  near  Providence,  in  the  State  of 
Rhode  Island. 

2.  Resolved,  That   in  case  the  Legislatm-e    should   deem  it 


296  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

expedient  to  construct  said  railroads,  wholly  at  the  expense  of 
the  State,  that  the  city  government  be  authorized  and  requested 
to  apply  to  the  Legislature  for  an  act  to  enable  any  cities,  towns, 
or  bodies  corporate,  or  individuals,  to  subscribe  for  such  portion 
of  said  stock  as  may  not  be  taken  by  the  State,  on  such  terms 
and  conditions  as  may  be  deemed  expedient. 

On  the  day  appointed,  a  general  meeting  of  the  citizens  of 
Boston  was  holden  in  Fanueil  Hall,  and  both  resolutions  were 
passed  by  upwards  of  three  thousand  votes  in  the  affirmative  to 
less  than  sixty  in  the  negative. 

An  application  to  that  effect  was  immediately  made  by  the 
City  Council  to  the  Legislature,  in  conformity  with  those  reso- 
lutions. 

In  November,  a  number  of  citizens  petitioned  the  City  Coun- 
cil, praying  them  to  appropriate  a  suitable  piece  of  land  on  the 
flats  between  the  Western  Avenue  and  Boylstoru Street,  in  aid 
of,  and  as  a  convenient  terminus  for  warehouses,  and  a  depot 
for  a  raih'oad,  then  proposed  from  the  city  to  Brattleborough,  in 
Vermont.  This  petition  was  refen^ed  to  the  Mayor  and  Alder- 
man Loring,  and  to  Messrs.  Everett,  EUis,  and  E-ayner,  of  the 
Common  Council. 

This  Committee,  in  December  following,  reported,  "that  the 
establishment  of  railroads  connecting  the  city  with  the  interior 
country,  is  of  such  vital  importance  to  the  prosperity  of  the  former, 
as  to  leave  no  room  to  doubt,  that  the  city  government  will  ever 
be  actuated  by  a  disposition  to  promote  the  success  of  these  ope- 
rations, (when  plans  for  them  shall  be  matured,)  by  all  reason- 
able aid  and  means  within  the  limits  of  their  constitutional 
authority.  The  location  of  land  for  the  termination  of  such 
raihoads  in  the  city,  appears  to  the  Committee  to  involve  many 
important  considerations,  which,  in  the  present  incipient  stage 
of  the  business,  the  City  Council  are  not  competent  to  examine 
and  weigh.  It  is  a  measure,  also,  upon  which  any  company 
obtaining  a  charter  would  reserve  the  right  of  deciding  for  itself; 
and  a  prematm-e  assignment  of  lands  for  the  proposed  object 
might  not  only  be  rejected  by  such  company,  but  prevent  sub- 
scriptions to  the  stock  by  individuals,  who  would  be  dissatisfied 
in  perceiving  the  adoption  of  views,  which  might  preclude  them 
from  an  entire  freedom  of  voting  and  deciding  upon  what  might 
be  deemed  a  very  essential  feature   in  any  enterprise  of  this 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  297 

kind."  The  Committee,  therefore,  recommended  the  passage 
of  a  resolve :  —  "  That  it  is  not  expedient  for  the  City  Council  to 
make  any  grant  or  assignment  of  land  for  the  accommodation 
of  railroads,  until  one  or  more  charters  of  incorporation  shall  be 
obtained  for  the  construction  of  such  railroads,  and  the  City 
Council  shall  thus  be  enabled  to  act  upon  distinct  information 
of  all  circumstances,  in  reference  as  well  to  the  provisions  of 
such  charters,  and  as  to  their  authority  to  make  such  grants 
under  the  charter  of  the  city  and  the  laws  of  the  Common- 
wealth." This  resolve  was  passed  in  concurrence  by  both 
branches  of  the  City  Council. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

CITY   GOVEKKMENT.     1830. 

Harrison  Gray  Otis,  Mayor)- 

Prosperous  State  of  the  City — Embarrassment  of  the  Manufacturing  Interests, 
and  its  Causes  —  Comijletion  of  the  City  Wharf —  State  of  the  City  Debt  — 
Sale  of  Public  Lands  —  Condition  of  the  Flats  to  the  West  of  the  Neck  — 
State  of  the  Court-Houses  —  Protection  of  our  Outer  Harbor  —  Centennial 
Celebration  resolved  upon  —  Grant  of  the  City  Hall  for  Sales  of  Domestic 
Manufactures  Rescinded  —  Sale  of  Spirituous  Liquors  on  the  Common  Pro- 
hibited—  Old  State  House  to  be  called  "  The  City  Hall"  —  Centennial  Cele- 
bration of  the  Settlement  of  Boston. 

The  records  of  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  on  the  fourth  of  Jan- 
uary, 1830,  state,  that  "  a  message  was  received  from  the  Mayor, 
expressing  his  regrets  that  indisposition  prevented  his  having  the 
honor  of  meeting  the  gentlemen  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  and 
Common  Council  in  their  own  chambers;  and,  therefore,  he 
respectfully  requested  their  presence  at  his  house,  at  such  hour 
as  might  be  agreeable  to  them,  to  qualify  for  their  respective 
functions.  The  members  of  both  branches  of  the  City  Council 
then  proceeded  to  the  mansion-house  of  the  Mayor,  where  the 
government  was  organized  with  the  usual  solemnities ;  after 
which,  the  Mayor  delivered  the  following  inaugural  address :  — 

GENTLEMEN    OF    THE    CITY    COUNCIL: 

The  season  has  returned,  in  which  we  who  are  chosen  by  our 
feUow-citizens  to  administer  their  municipal  concerns  for  the 
current  year,  are  expected  to  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  our 
respective  functions. 

Our  acknowledgments  are  due  to  the  Great  Disposer  of  all 
events  for  having  preserved  to  our  constituents,  throughout  the 

1  The  whole  number  of  votes  were  1,966  ;  of  which  the  Mayor  received  1,844. 

The  Aldermen  were  Henry  J.  Oliver,  John  F.  Loring,  Samuel  T.  Armstrong, 
Benjamin  Russell,  Winslow  Lewis,  Charles  Wells,-  Moses  Williams,  John  B. 
M'Cleary. 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  299 

past  year,  the  possession  of  the  principal  blessings,  on  which 
depend  the  welfare  and  comfort  of  populous  cities.  The  health- 
iness of  the  city,  always  unrivalled,  has  been  preserved  at  least  to 
its  usual  standard.  With  the  advantages  of  health  have  been 
united  those  of  plenty.  Our  markets  and  magazines  are  filled 
to  exuberance  with  all  that  is  needful  for  sustenance,  or  condu- 
cive to  comfort  and  luxury,  at  reasonable  and  reduced  prices. 
We  live  also  in  a  state  of  peace,  which  seems  not  to  be  threat- 
ened with  approaching  interruption.  The  public  concerns  of 
the  State  and  nation  are  thus  far  well-administered,  and  no 
indication  is  manifested,  in  the  communications  of  the  executive 
government  of  the  United  States,  of  plans  or  schemes  of  policy 
calculated  to  inspire  apprehensions  of  measures  unfavorable  to 
the  interests  of  this  community.  These  circumstances  seem  to 
embrace  all  that  is  requisite  for  the  prosperity  of  an  industrious 
and  enterprising  people.  They  have,  however,  for  the  last  two 
years,  been  counteracted  by  others,  which  have  opposed  se- 
rious impediments  to  our  advancement.  The  capitalists  and 
merchants  of  this  city,  influenced  by  the  sti'ong  demonstrations 
manifested  in  other  parts  of  the  Union  in  favor  of  the  manufac- 
turing policy  and  by  the  patronage  of  government,  and  allured 
by  fallacious  estimates  of  great  profits  made  by  others,  in  vio- 
lence of  then*  natural  predilections  and  habits,  have  invested 
an  undue  portion  of  capital  in  manufacturing  establishments. 
Their  example  was  followed  by  those  whose  capital  consisted 
wholly  in  their  spirit  of  enterprise.  Hence  ensued  a  disastrous 
competition.  The  establishments  bottomed  on  substantial  funds 
were  stimulated  to  launch  forth  beyond  the  natural  and  reason- 
able limits  of  those  funds.  They  could  not  renounce  the  market 
without  ruin,  and  their  rivals  could  not  maintain  themselves  in 
it  without  sacrifices,  that  must  end  in  ruin.  This  crisis  was 
eagerly  seized  by  the  British  manufacturers  as  furnishing  an 
occasion  to  extinguish,  perhaps  forever,  the  manufacturing  spirit 
in  this  country  ;  and  they  inundated  our  market  with  the  redun- 
dancy of  their  own.  Hence  resulted  an  excessive  plethora,  and 
consequent  depreciation  of  value,  loss,  and  sacrifice  by  forced 
sales.  Owing  to  these  incidents,  combined  with  the  unwise 
and  improvident  system  of  our  legislation  as  respects  manufac- 
turing corporations,  and  with  the  uncertainty  of  the  future  policy 
of  the  government,  disturbed  by  the  vehemence  of  opposition  to 


300  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

the  protecting  system  originating  here,  hence  extending  to  other 
States,  and  brought  back  by  violent  reaction  —  add  to  these  the 
panic  which  always  aggravates  calamitous  events  —  it  has  hap- 
pened, as  might  be  foreseen,  that  property  vested  in  manufac- 
tures has  for  a  time  become  valueless  as  a  medium  of  exchange, 
or  a  foundation  for  credit  or  accommodation  in  any  form.  By 
these  means,  many  of  our  worthy  citizens  are  ruined,  others 
cramped  and  embarrassed,  and  our  whole  community  become 
less  able  to  embark  in  other  enterprises,  which  would  augment 
the  wealth  and  resources  of  the  city.  There  is,  however,  a 
cheering  prospect  that  the  fierceness  of  this  storm  has  over- 
blown ;  that  our  affairs,  in  common  with  those  of  other  parts  of 
the  world,  wlU  gradually  find  their  level,  with  less  of  injury  to  the 
city  than  our  fears  would  seem  to  justify ;  and  that,  after  the 
struggle  of  half  a  century,  in  peace  and  in  war,  our  nation  will 
have  secured  the  privilege  and  the  faculty  of  manufacturing  for 
itself.  Neither  the  state  of  public  sentiment,  nor  the  condition 
of  our  treasury  at  the  close  of  the  year,  authorized  the  expectation 
that  appropriations  would  be  made  for  expensive  public  build- 
ings, or  improvements  of  any  description.  Accordingly,  nothing 
in  this  line  has  been  attempted.  The  City  Wharf  has  been 
completed,  and  promises  a  revenue,*  which,  after  a  few  years, 
will  reimburse,  its  cost,  and  be  then  apphcable  to  other  objects. 
Two  new  engine-houses,  two  school-houses,  and  a  cottage  for 
the  resident  Physician  on  Hospital  Island,  are  the  only  new 
buildings  erected  the  past  year.  Five  new  reservohs  have  also 
been  completed. 

The  amount  of  the  city  debt,  on  the  first  of  May  last,  was 
$9]  1,850.  Of  which  the  sum  paid  by  the  Committee  on  the 
reduction  of  the  public  debt,  beyond  the  amount  of  moneys 
borrowed  to  be  applied  to  that  object,  is  |54,100.  There 
•was  also  borrowed  for  the  payment  of  de^bt  to  the  Mercantile 
Wharf  Corporation,  and  for  the  completion  of  Faneuil  Hall 
Market,  the  sum  of  $25,880.75.  So  that  the  true  deduction 
from  the  amount  of  the  debt  as  it  stood  in  May  last,  up  to  this 
day,  is  $28,219.25.  Thus  leaving  the  aggregate  amount  of  the 
city  debt  at  this  time,  $883,630.  The  only  personal  assets  on 
which  reliance  can  be  placed,  as  a  partial  offset  against  this 
debt,  are  bonds  and  securities  due  to  the  city,  of  $257,341.42. 

Apart  from  these,  the  only  fund  available  for  the  reduction  or 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  301 

extinguishment  of  this  debt,  must  be  found  in  the  city's  lands ; 
and  it  follows,  of  course,  that  in  the  judicious  management  and 
disposal  of  these  lands  can  be  found  the  only  resources  for  public 
credit,  and  for  the  ultimate  improvement  of  the  city,  without 
resort  tOi  direct  taxation,  and  that  no  object  can  be  more  worthy 
of  diir  constant  vigilance. 

I  have  gi-eat  faith  in  the  intrinsic  value  of  these  lands,  which, 
owing  to  the  vesture  in  which  they  are  permitted  to  remain,  is 
not  sufficiently  appreciated.  They  certainly  will  not  take  care 
of  themselves.  It  is  essential  to  any  project  for  the  lucrative 
sale  of  them,  that  a  prospective  plan  should  be  adopted  and 
established,  so  that  purchasers  may  calculate  with  reasonable 
certainty  upon  future,  as  well  as  present  advantages.  It  is  also 
indispensable  to  the  success  of  such  project,  that  moderate 
appropriations  should  be  made,  from  time  to  time,  to  enable  the 
commissioner,  under  instructions  from  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen, 
at  the  sole  expense  of  the  city,  or  by  cooperating  with  other 
proprietors,  (as  the  case  may  be,)  to  make  such  drains,  dikes, 
and  canals,  as  may  put  certain  parts  of  the  land  in  a  marketable 
condition.  I  am  far  from  recommending  the  expenditure  of 
large  amounts  upon  uncertain  speculation ;  btit  am  also  satisfied, 
that,  without  some  disbursement,  nothing  valuable  can  be 
effected.  For  this  purpose,  the  needful  sums  might  be  bor- 
rowed as  wanted,  reimbursable  from  the  first  sales ;  thus  mak- 
ing a  nominal  temporary  addition  to  the  debt,  for  the  sake  of 
its  sure,  effective,  and  ultimate  payment.  There  could  be  little 
danger  of  serious  aberration  in  this  procedure.  These  lands  are 
in  some  places  contiguous  to  those  of  individual  proprietors, 
whose  well-directed  sagacity  and  enterprise  have  converted  pre- 
mises possessing  no  supereminent  advantages  into  populous 
streets  and  squares,  and  at  rates,  which,  realized  by  the  city, 
would  not  only  extinguish  its  debt,  but  contribute  an  ample 
fund  for  future  improvements,  and  relief  from  our  annual  burden. 

Nothing  is  perceived  to  inhibit  those  intrusted  with  the  sale  of 
your  lands  from  looking  over  the  shoulders  of  these  wise  stew- 
ards and  profiting  by  their  experience,  but  funds  necessary  for 
occasional  advances.  In  this  connection  it  is  my  duty  to  state, 
that  the  condition  of  the  flats  w^est  of  the  neck  is  regarded  by 
eminent  physicians  as  becoming  pregnant  with  danger  to  the 
health  of  the  city.  It  is  an  unwelcome  truth,  that  the  inter- 
26 


302  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

mittent  fever  is  no  longer  confined  to  those  regions,  to  which  it 
was  until  lately  regarded  as  endemial,  but  occasionally  appears 
in  more  northerly  latitudes,  which  were  thought  to  be  happily 
exempted  from  that  scourge.  Our  own  State,  (so  far  as  I  am 
informed,)  and  certainly  our  own  city,  are,  under  Providence, 
strangers  to  this  afflicting  and  enervating  disease,  which  is 
rarely  dislodged  from  positions  which  it  once  occupies.  But,  if 
such  be  the  predisposition  of  the  atmosphere  of  the  country 
around  us,  we  are  admonished  by  it  not  to  set  danger  at  defi- 
ance, by  fostering  upon  om'  borders  an  immense  morass,  cncum- 
vented  with  sohd  dikes,  and  from  its  position  a  receptacle  of 
the  seeds  of  disease. 

The  state  of  our  principal  court-houses  and  of  the  land  con- 
nected with  them,  and  of  other  county  property,  demands  seri- 
ous investigation,  and  is  not  free  from  embarrassing  circum- 
stances. This  land,  lying  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  is  of  great 
value  in  itself;  but,  cut  off"  from  streets  by  the  public  buildings, 
it  could  not  be  sold  for  a  fair  equivalent.  These  buildings 
are  not  only  altogether  ill  adapted  to  the  exigencies  of  the  city, 
but  the  principal  court-house  is  of  a  construction  so  defective 
as  to  have  been  condemned  upon  a  regular  survey  as  unsafe. 
It  is  now  shored  up  in  some  parts  by  buttresses.  It  is  believed, 
that  no  alternative  wiU  remain  to  the  city  but  to  sell  all  the 
land  and  buildings,  and  to  apply  the  proceeds,  as  far  as  they 
will  go,  to  the  purchase  of  another  site,  suitable  for  the  accom- 
modation of  all  our  courts,  and  city  government,  and  officers. 
It  is  not  my  intention  to  recommend  this  measure  defini- 
tively at  this  time.  But,  under  a  deep  conviction  that  it  will 
bear  examination,  and  be  found  at  no  distant  period  consistent 
with  true  economy,  and  essential  to  the  public  accommodation, 
I  shall  crave  your  permission,  in  due  time,  to  submit  to  your 
inspection  the  details  of  a  plan  for  this  purpose,  not  yet  quite 
matm-ed.  To  some  share  in  these  lands  and  buildings,  the 
town  of  Chelsea,  as  a  portion  of  the  county,  is  understood  to 
have  a  claim.  The  best  interest  of  the  city  requires  that  this 
claim  should,  on  some  equitable  principles,  be  adjusted  and 
extinguished ;  and  that  with  it  should  terminate  the  existing 
connection  between  Chelsea  and  this  city.  It  seems,  at  first 
blush,  preposterous,  that  this  city  should  be  compelled  to  main- 
tain the  organization  and  formalities  of  a  county  jurisdiction,  in 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  303 

consequence  merely  of  this  connection.  It  is  attended  with  great 
additional  embarrassment,  and  the  expense  of  it  is  not  subject  to 
the  ordinary  revision  and  control  of  the  city  government.  Its 
dissolution  must  be  preliminary  to  any  substantial  and  salutary 
reform  in  the  organization  of  our  com-ts,  and  the  administration 
of  justice. 

The  affairs  of  the  Houses  of  Industry,  Reformation,  Correc- 
tion, and  the  Jail,  have  been  conducted  in  the  most  merito- 
rious manner  by  their  respective  Overseers,  and  Superintend- 
ents, according  to  their  means.  But  so  much  is  wanted  to 
place  them  on  a  footing  commensurate  with  the  claims  of 
humanity  and  the  feelings  of  the  age  —  so  much  beyond  our 
present  resources  —  that  I  refrain  from  enlarging  on  the  subject; 
expressing  merely  the  hope,  that  some  cheap  provision  may  be 
made,  by  temporary  buildings  for  the  more  effectual  separa- 
tion of  the  insane  from  the  children  of  vice,  and  the  least  atro- 
cious of  those  from  hardened  offenders ;  and  that  the  time  is 
approaching,  when  the  unfortunate  debtor  will  not  be  domicili- 
ated or  confounded  with  either  of  these  classes. 

From  undoubted  information  it  is  ascertained,  that  the  danger 
of  our  harbor,  from  the  alluvion  of  some  of  the  islands,  and  the 
breach  of  the  sea  over  the  beaches,  is  constantly  increasing.  A 
confidence  is  felt,  that  the  national  government  will  continue  its 
aid,  to  secure  us  against  the  more  formidable  inroads  of  the  sea  in 
our  lower  harbor.  But  additional  protection  is  wanted  for  the 
interior  positions,  and  for  the  existing  wharves.  A  large  surface 
of  flats  in  the  southeasterly  quarter  of  the  city,  beyond  the  limits 
of  those  appendant  to  the  upland,  and  entirely  useless  for  any 
but  the  proposed  object,  would  serve  as  a  foundation  for  break- 
waters ;  and,  if  owned  by  the  city,  might  be  ceded  for  that 
purpose  to  companies  who  would  erect  them.  Application  has 
been  made  to  the  Commonwealth  for  a  release  of  any  claim 
they  may  have  to  the  premises,  and  no  objection  is  foreseen  to 
their  granting  what  is  of  no  value  in  its  present  circumstances, 
but  in  the  benefit  of  which  the  State  would  participate,  when 
made  useful  to  its  metropolis. 

A  copious  supply  of  fresh  water  is  a  convenience,  the  vs/'ant 
of  which  becomes  constantly  more  imperative.  If,  upon  due 
consideration,  it  should  not  be  determined  expedient  for  the 
city  to  erect   hydrants   on   its   own  account,  the  propriety  of 


304  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

granting  that  immunity  to  a  company  will  naturally  engage 
and  command  the  attention  of  the  city  government. 

The  transcendent  success  of  the  railroad  system  in  England, 
as  well  as  the  encouraging  result,  so  far  as  it  has  been  attempted 
in  this  country,  support  the  hope,  that  Massachusetts  wih  not 
linger  in  the  rear  of  that  enterprise,  from  the  issue  of  which 
no  other  State  has  more  to  expect  than  herself. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Common  Council,  —  It  is  peculiarly  your 
province  to  devise  all  practicable  means  for  alleviating  the  weight 
of  taxation,  and  retrenching  the  expenses  of  the  city  government. 
I  have  anxiously  reviewed  the  ordinary  heads  of  expenditure,  with 
a  desire  to  suggest  to  you  any  savings  that  may  be  made,  con- 
sistently with  the  accustomed  wants,  habits,  and  expectations 
of  our  fellow-citizens.  I  regret  to  say,  that  I  can  discern  none 
of  much  importance.  The  population  of  the  city  is  increasing. 
The  support  of  the  School  and  Fire  estabhshment4s  expected  to 
be  maintained  in  full  energy.  The  city  is  at  present  defectively 
lighted,  though  additions  are  constantly  making  to  the  number 
of  lamps  and  quantity  of  oil.  Many  streets  are  unpaved,  the 
claims  of  whose  inhabitants  to  equal  accommodations  with  their 
neighbors,  are  extremely  importunate.  Occasions  constantly 
present  themselves  for  the  widening  of  streets,  which,  if  not 
improved,  wiU  not  recur  for  many  years.  It  is  my  own  opinion, 
that  the  cleaning  and  the  sweeping  of  the  streets  are  practised 
to  a  needless  and  pernicious  extreme ;  but  such  hitherto  seems 
to  be  the  pleasure  of  om-  feUow-citizens,  to  which  I  have  conse- 
quently instructed  the  Superintendent  of  Streets  to  conform. 
Of  the  sums  appropriated  for  the  cm-rent  expenses  of  this  year, 
more  than  nineteen  thousand  dollars  have  been  paid  to  meet 
the  arrearages  of  the  last  financial  year,  arising  from  outstand- 
ing contracts  and  demands.  It  is  confidently  believed,  that  no 
such  items  will  appear  to  trench  upon  the  appropriations  for  the 
cm-rent  service ;  still,  it  is  apprehended  that  no  very  important 
reduction  can  be  made  in  om-  annual  expenditure. 

On  the  subject  of  salaries,  I  have  but  a  single  remark,  that 
can  be  made  with  decorum.  Should  a  general  reduction  of  the 
salaries  of  yom-  city  officers  be  decided  on,  I  shall  not  avail 
myself  of  the  protection  provided  by  charter  for  the  Mayor's 
salary  during  the  period  for  which  he  is  elected ;  but  shall  con- 
form to  what  I  may  discern  to  be  the  public  sentiment. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  305 

Nothing  remains  for  me  but  to  renew  to  you  all  my  sincere 
expression  of  the  good  wishes  inspired  by  the  associations  of  the 
season,  and  to  assure  you  of  the  gi-eat  pleasm-e  I  shall  derive  in 
my  humble  attempts  to  give  effect  to  your  ordinances. 

H.  G.  Otis. 
January  4,  1830. 

On  the  eighth  of  February,  1830,  the  Mayor  communicated  a 
letter  from  the  Hon.  John  Davis,  Thomas  L.  Winthrop,  James 
Savage,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thaddeus  M.  Harris,  a  Committee  of 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  "respecting  the  expe- 
diency of  celebrating  the  second  century  of  the  foundation  of 
Boston,  which  happens  the  present  year,"  which,  being  read,  was 
refeiTcd  to  a  committee,  consisting  of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  Rus- 
sell and  Lewis,  and  Messrs.  Bigelow,  Minns,  James,  Eveleth, 
and  Gregg,  of  the  Common  Council,  to  consider  and  report. 

On  the  first  of  March  ensuing,  this  Committee  reported,  that 
the  seventeenth  of  September  next  will  be  the  commencement 
of  the  thu'd  centmy,  since  the  name  of  Boston  was  first  con- 
ferred upon  this  city  by  the  Com-t  of  Assistants  then  held  at 
Charlestown,  and  that  there  would  be  a  propriety  in  the  public 
celebration  of  that  day  by  the  citizens  of  Boston  and  their 
government ;  that  a  public  address  commemorative  of  that  event 
and  its  aU-important  consequences  be,  on  that  day,  delivered  at 
some  suitable  place  in  this  city ;  that  a  committee  of  arrange-? 
raents  be  authorized  to  engage  an  orator  for  that  day,  and  to 
make  such  other  dispositions  for  the  honorable  notice  of  it  as 
they  may  deem  proper. 

The  report  being  accepted  in  both  branches,  the  Mayor  and 
Benjamin  T.  Pickman,  President  of  the  Common  Council,  and 
the  other  members  who  constituted  the  Committee  that  made 
the  above  report,  were  appointed  a  Committee  of  Arrangements 
to  carry  the  same  into  effect. 

This  Committee  invited  Josiah  Quincy,  then  President  of 
Harvard  University,  to  deliver  the  oration,  and  Charles  Sprague, 
Esq.,  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Boston,  to  deliver  a  poem  on  that 
occasion,  both  of  whom  accepted  the  appointment. 

On  the  eighth  of  March,  1830,  an  order  was  passed  by  the 
Board  of  Aldermen,  "  that  notice  be  given  to  the  New  England 
Society  for  the  promotion  of  Manufactures  and  the  Mechanic 
26* 


306  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

Arts,  that,  after  the  expiration  of  six  months,  the  vote  which 
passed  the  City  Council  on  the  nineteenth  of  November,  1827 ,i 
granting  the  exclusive  use  of  the  hall  over  the  Market  for  the 
purpose  of  then-  semi-annual  sales,  from  the  fifteenth  day  of 
March  to  the  fifteenth  day  of  April,  and  from  the  fifteenth  day 
of  August  to  the  fifteenth  day  of  September,  free  of  rent,  until 
the  further  order  of  the  City  Council,  and  that  six  months'  notice 
should  be  given  to  the  said  Society  of  the  rescinding  of  this 
privilege,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  rescinded."  This  being 
passed  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  was,  on  the  twenty-second 
of  March,  non-concurred  by  the  Common  Council ;  and  on  the 
twenty-ninth,  a  committee  of  conference  was  appointed,  con- 
sisting of  the  Mayor,  and  Alderman  Armstrong,  and  Messrs. 
Waters  and  Win  slow  Wright,  of  the  Common  Council,  on 
the  subject  of  the  difference  between  the  two  Boards.  On  the 
third  day  of  May,  this  Committee  reported,  that  the  privilege 
granted  to  the  New  England  Society  was  experimental  and 
a  temporary  accommodation  ;  that  a  diversity  of  opinion  ex- 
isted among  those  interested  in  manufactures,  as  to  the  advan- 
tage of  persevering  in  these  semi-annual  sales  ;  that  whatever 
course  the  manufacturers  might  adopt  on  the  subject,  the  "  true 
inquiry  of  the  city  government  was,  whether  the  advantage 
indirectly  accruing  to  the  city  itself,  from  their  continuance,  was 
equivalent  to  the  emolument  which  may  reasonably  be  antici- 
pated dnectly  to  result  from  another  mode  of  disposing  of  the 
premises.  Your  Committee  are  unable  to  discern  that  that  is 
the  case.  The  manufactures  of  this  part  of  the  country  have 
now  attained  so  good  a  standard,  and  to  such  celebrity,  that 
whenever  the  supply  throughout  the  United  States  does  not 
exceed  the  demand,  they  will  be  sought  for  by  customers,  whe- 
ther to  be  had  at  private  or  public  sales.  The  use  of  the  build- 
ing is  of  little  or  no  value  to  those  who  fabricate  the  goods. 
The  amount  of  the  storage  thus  saved  (if  in  fact  it  be  saved) 
averaged  on  the  whole  quantity  of  goods  sold,  cannot  be  felt  in 
the  price  of  the  goods,  either  by  the  individual  seller  or  the  pur- 
chaser ;  nor  can  the  accommodation  be  very  important  to  the 
auctioneers,  all  of  whom  have  capacious  warehouses.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  state  of  the  city  and  its  finances  impose  upon  its 

1  See  p.  251. 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  307 

government  the  duty  to  avail  themselves  of  every  fair  source  of 
revenue  in  its  occupation  of  its  property."  The  Committee 
declared  their  belief  that  a  fair  rent  might  be  obtained  for  the  use 
of  the  hall;  and  that  if  the  New  England  Society  should  be 
inclined  to  persevere  in  their  public  sales,  there  might  be  a  dis- 
position to  allow  them  the  use  of  Faneuil  Hall  in  lieu  of  that  in 
their  present  occupation.  The  Committee,  therefore,  recom- 
mended that  the  Common  Council  recede  from  their  vote  of  the 
twenty-second  of  March,  non-concurring  with  the  order  of  the 
Board  of  Aldermen,  passed  on  the  eighth  of  March,  and  that 
they  concur  in  passing  the  same ;  and  that  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  be  authorized  to  lease  the  hall  over  the  Market,  here- 
tofore used  by  the  New  England  Society,  upon  the  best  terms 
they  can  obtain. 

This  report  was  accepted,  and  the  order  passed  in  both 
branches  of  the  City  Council. 

In  May  of  this  year,  a  Committee  of  the  Society  for  the  Sup- 
pression of  Intemperance  petitioned  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen 
to  cause  a  band  of  music  to  be  stationed  on  the  Common  on  the 
afternoons  and  evenings  of  the  General  Election  and  Fourth  of 
July,  such  a  practice  having,  in  their  judgment,  a  tendency  to 
promote  order  and  suppress  an  inclination  to  riot  and  intempe- 
rance, which,  on  the  report  of  a  committee,  was  ordered,  and  an 
adequate  appropriation  was  voted. 

Orders  at  the  same  meeting  were  passed  similar  to  those 
issued  in  1828,  directing  the  constables  of  the  city  to  prosecute 
any  person  who  should  sell  on  the  Common,  in  the  malls,  or  in 
any  of  the  streets  contiguous  thereto,  spuituous  liquors  or  any 
mixed  liquors  ;  or  who  should,  upon  any  of  said  places,  play  at 
cards,  or  dice,  or  with  any  implements  used  in  gaming,  on  the 
day  of  General  Election,  Artillery  Election,  and  the  Anniversary 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence ;  and  before  granting  per- 
mission to  any  person  to  erect  booths,  notice  to  the  above  effect 
should  be  given,  and  also  by  publishing  copies  of  this  order  in 
the  newspapers  and  in  suitable  public  places. 

On  the  twenty -fifth  of  June,  the  Mayor,  by  special  message, 
after  referring  to  the  relations  and  interests  of  the  city,  in  respect 
of  the  public  buildings  at  its  command,  for  public  pm-poses, 
recommended  the  giving  to  the  Committee  charged  with  the 
alteration  and  repairs  of  the  Old  State  House,  full  power  to  pre- 


308  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

pare  in  that  building  chambers  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
Mayor  and  Aldermen  and  Common  Council  and  such  of  the 
city  officers  as  could  be  conveniently  provided  for  in  those  pre- 
mises. This  recommendation  was  immediately  sanctioned  by 
the  City  Council,  and  the  arrangements  having  been  made  as 
suggested  in  that  message,  the  City  Council  first  met  in  the 
chambers  prepared  for  then  accommodation  on  the  seventeenth 
of  September,  1830,  the  day  assigned  for  the  centennial  celebra- 
tion of  the  foundation .  of  the  city,  and  the  two  branches  being 
assembled  in  Convention,  the  Mayor  announced  to  them  the 
name  "  by  which  the  edifice  "  (called  the  Old  State  House)  "  shall 
hereafter  be  called,  namely,  —  City  Hall,"  —  and  then  made  to 
the  Convention  an  address ;  "  after  which,"  the  records  state, 
"  the  two  branches  went  in  procession  to  the  Old  South  Church, 
escorted  by  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company, 
where  an  address  was  delivered  by  the  Honorable  Jesiah  Quincy, 
President  of  Harvard  University,  and  a  poem  by  Charles  Sprague, 
Esq.,  and  other  services  were  performed  in  commemoration  of 
the  close  of  the  second  century  from  the  first  settlement  of 
Boston." 

On  the  twentieth  of  ■  September,  votes  were  passed  by  both 
branches  of  the  City  Council,  with  customary  expressions  of 
interest  and  respect  to  Mr.  Otis  and  Mr.  Quincy  for  their 
respective  addresses,  and  to  Mr.  Sprague  for  his  poem ;  and 
copies  of  each  were  requested  for  the  press.  They  were  published 
accordingly,  and  constitute  the  remaining  and  final  chapters  of 
this  history. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.    1830. 

Harrison  Gray  Otis,  Mayor. 

Address  of  the  Mayor  to  tlie  Members  of  tlie  City  Council,  on  the  Removal  of 
the  Municipal  Government  to  the  Old  State  House,  on  the  Morning  of  the 
17th  of  September,  1830. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Common  Council  :  — 

I  HAVE  the  honor  to  announce  to  you,  that  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  have  concuiTed  with  your  request  to  change  the  name 
of  this  building,  and  to  order  that  it  be  henceforth  called  and 
known  by  the  name  of  the  City  Hall. 

Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council  :  —  The  intimations  which 
I  have  received  from  many  individuals  of  your  body,  have  left 
me  no  room  to  doubt  of  your  general  expectation,  that  this  first 
occasion  of  our  meeting  in  this  chamber  should  not  be  permitted 
to  pass  away  without  something  more  than  a  brief  record  of  the 
event  upon  your  journals.  The  spot  on  which  we  are  convened 
is  patriot  ground.  It  was  consecrated  by  our  pious  ancestors  to 
the  duties  of  providing  for  the  welfare  of  their  infant  settlement, 
and  for  a  long  series  of  years  was  occupied  in  succession  by  the 
great  and  good  men,  whom  Providence  raised  up  to  establish 
the  institutions  and  liberties  of  their  country. 

There  are  none,  who  have  paid  even  a  superficial  attention  to 
the  process  of  then-  perceptions,  who  are  not  conscious  that  a 
prolific  source  of  intellectual  pleasures  and  pains  is  found  in  our 
faculty  of  associating  the  remembrance  of  characters  and  events, 
which  have  most  interested  our  affections  and  passions,  with  the 
spot  whereon  the  first  have  lived  and  the  latter  have  occmTcd. 
It  is  to  the  magic  of  this  local  influence  that  we  are  indebted  for 
the  charm  which  recalls  the  sports  and  pastimes  of  om-  child- 
hood, the  joyous  days  of  youth,  when  buoyant  spirits  invested 
all  surrounding  objects  with  the  color  of  the  rose.  It  is  this 
which  brings  before  us,  as  we  look  back  through  the  vista  of 


310  MUNICIPAL  inSTOEY. 

riper  years,  past  enjoyments  and  afflictions,  aspiring  hopes  and 
bitter  disappointments,  the  temptations  we  have  encountered, 
the  snares  which  have  entangled  us,  the  dangers  we  have  escaped, 
the  fidelity  or  treachery  of  friends.  It  is  this  which  enables  us 
to  surround  ourselves  with  the  images  of  those  who  were  asso- 
ciates in  the  scenes  we  contemplate,  and  to  hold  sweet  converse 
with  the  spirits  of  the  departed,  whom  we  have  loved  or  hon- 
ored in  the  places  which  shall  know  them  no  more. 

But  the  potency  of  these  local  associations  is  not  limited  to 
the  sphere  of  our  personal  experience.  We  are  qualified  by  it  to 
derive  gratification  from  what  we  have  heard  and  read  of  other 
times,  to  bring  forth  forgotten  treasures  from  the  recesses  of 
memory,  and  recreate  fancy  in  the  fields  of  imagination.  The 
regions  which  have  been  famed  in  sacred  or  fabulous  history; 
the  mountains,  plains,  isles,  rivers,  celebrated  in  the  classic  page ; 
the  seas  traversed  by  the  discoverers  of  new  worlds ;  the  fields 
in  which  empires  have  been  lost  and  won,  are  scenes  of  enchant- 
ment for  the  visitor  who  indulges  the  trains  of  perception,  which 
either  rush  unbidden  on  his  mind,  or  are  courted  by  its  volun- 
tary efforts.  This  faculty  it  is,  which,  united  with  a  disposition  to 
use  it  to  advantage,  alone  gives  dignity  to  the  passion  for  visit- 
ing foreign  countries,  and  distinguishes  the  philosopher,  who 
morahzes  on  the  turf  that  covers  the  mouldering  dust  of  ambi- 
tion, valor,  or  patriotism,  from  the  fashionable  vagabond,  who 
flutters  among  the  flowers  which  bloom  over  their  graves. 

Among  all  the  objects  of  mental  association,  ancient  buUdings 
and  ruins  affect  us  with  the  deepest  and  most  vivid  emotions. 
They  were  the  works  of  beings  like  ourselves.  "While  a  mist 
impervious  to  mortal  view  hangs  over  the  future,  all  our  fond 
imaginings  of  the  things  which  "  eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear 
heard,"  in  the  eternity  to  come,  are  inevitably  associated  with 
the  men,  the  events  and  things,  which  have  gone  to  join  the 
eternity  that  is  past.  When  imagination  has  in  vain  essayed  to 
rise  beyond  the  stars  which  "  proclaim  the  story  of  then-  bu'th," 
inquisitive  to  know  the  occupations  and  condition  of  the  sages 
and  heroes  whom  we  hope  to  join  in  a  higher  empyrean,  she 
drops  her  weary  wing,  and  is  compelled  to  alight  among  the 
fragments  of  "  gorgeous  palaces  and  cloud-capp'd  towers,"  which 
cover  their  human  ruins ;  and,  by  aid  of  these  localities,  to  rumi- 
nate upon  their  virtues  and  their  faults,  oh  their  deeds  in  the 


CITY   GOVERKMENT.  311 

cabinet  and  in  the  field,  and  upon  the  revolutions  of  the  suc- 
cessive ages  in  which  they  lived.  To  this  propensity  may  be 
traced  the  sublimated  feelings  of  the  man,  who,  familiar  with 
the  stories  of  Sesostris,  the  Pharaohs,  and  the  Ptolemies,  sur- 
veys the  pyi-amids,  not  merely  as  stupendous  fabrics  of  mecha- 
nical sldll,  but  as  monuments  of  the  pride  and  ambitious  folly 
of  kings,  and  of  the  debasement  and  oppression  of  the  wretched 
myriads,  by  whose  labors  they  were  raised  to  the  skies.  To 
this  must  be  referred  the  awe  and  contrition  which  solemnize 
and  melt  the  heart  of  the  Christian  who  looks  into  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  and  believes  he  sees  the  place  where  the  Lord  was 
laid.  From  this  originate  the  musings  of  the  scholar,  who, 
amid  the  ruins  of  the  Parthenon  and  the  Acropolis,  transports 
his  imagination  to  the  age  of  Pericles  and  Phidias  ;  —  the  reflec- 
tions of  all  not  dead  to  sentiment,  who  descend  to  the  subterra- 
nean habitation  of  Pompeii,  —  handle  the  utensils  that  once 
ministered  to  the  wants,  and  the  ornaments  subservient  to  the 
luxury  of  a  polished  city,  —  behold  the  rut  of  wheels  upon  the 
pavement  hidden  for  ages  from  human  sight,  —  and  realize  the 
awful  hour  when  the  hum  of  industiy  and  the  song  of  joy,  the 
wailing  of  the  infant  and  the  garrulity  of  age,  were  suddenly 
and  forever  silenced  by  the  fiery  deluge  which  bmied  the  city, 
until  accident  and  industry,  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  eighteen 
centuries,  revealed  its  ruins  to  the  curiosity  and  cupidity  of  the 
passing  age. 

These  remarks,  in  which  you  may  think  there  is  more  of  truth 
than  of  novelty,  have  been  suggested  by  the  experiment,  which, 
a  few  days  since,  I  attempted,  to  condense  in  the  compass  of  a 
short  address  a  few  ideas  appropriate  to  this  occasion.  Begin- 
ning to  think  upon  matters  connected  with  the  old  Town  House, 
I  found  my  mind  confused,  and  overwhelmed  with  the  multi- 
tudinous associations  of  our  early  history  which  it  naturally 
induced.  To  indulge  them  to  a  great  extent,  would  trench 
upon  the  province  and  the  hour  assigned  to  another,  whose 
eloquence  will  furnish  the  principal  gratification  of  the  day.  It 
is,  therefore,  indispensable,  to  confine  myself  to  a  few  observa- 
tions, and  consequently  to  do  but  imperfect  justice  to  my  feel- 
ings and  the  subject. 

The  history  of  the  Town  House,  considered  merely  as  a  com- 
pages  of  brick  and  wood,  is  short  and  simple.     It  was  erected 


312  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

between  the  years  1657  and  1659,  and  was  principally  of  wood, 
as  far  as  can  be  ascertained.  The  contactor  received  six  hun- 
dred and  eighty  pounds,  on  a  final  settlement  in  full  of  all  con- 
tracts. This  was  probably  the  whole  amount  of  the  cost,  being 
double  that  of  the  estimate  —  a  ratio  pretty  regularly  kept  up  in 
our  times.  The  population  of  the  town,  sixty  years  afterwards, 
was  about  ten  thousand  ;  and  it  is  allowing  an  increase  beyond 
the  criterion  of  its  actual  numbers  at  subsequent  periods,  to  pre- 
sume that  at  the  time  oi  the  first  erection  of  the  Town  House, 
it  numbered  three  thousand  souls.  In  1711,  the  building  was 
burnt  to  the  ground,  and  soon  afterwards  built  with  brick.  In 
1747,  the  interior  was  again  consumed  by  fire,  and  soon  repaired 
in  the  form  which  it  retained  until  the  present  improvement, 
with  the  exception  of  some  alterations  in  the  apartments  made 
upon  the  removal  of  the  Legislature  to  the  new  State  House. 
The  eastern  chamber  was  originally  occupied  bjz^the  Council, 
afterwards  by  the  Senate.  The  Representatives  constantly  held 
their  sittings  in  the  western  chamber.  The  floor  of  these  was 
supported  by  pillars,  and  terminated  at  each  end  by  doors,  and 
at  one  end  by  a  fhght  of  steps  leading  into  State  Street.  In  the 
day  time,  the  doors  were  kept  open,  and  the  floor  served  as  a 
walk  for  the  inhabitants,  always  much  frequented,  and  during 
the  sessions  of  the  courts,  thronged.  On  the  north  side,  were 
offices  for  the  clerks  of  the  supreme  and  inferior  courts.  In 
these  the  judges  robed  themselves,  and  walked  in  procession, 
followed  by  the  bar,  at  the  opening  of  the  courts.  Committee- 
rooms  were  provided  in  the  upper  story.  Since  the  removal  of 
the  Legislature,  it  has  been  internally  divided  into  apartments 
and  leased  for  various  uses  in  a  mode  familiar  to  you  all,  and  it 
has  now  undergone  great  repairs.  This  floor  being  adapted  to 
the  accommodation  of  the  city  government,  and  principal  officers, 
while  the  first  floor  is  allotted  to  the  post-office,  newsroom,  and 
private  warehouses. 

In  this  brief  account  of  the  natm'al  body  of  the  building, 
which  it  is  beheved  comprehends  whatever  is  material,  there  is 
nothing  certainly  dazzling  or  extraordinary.  It  exhibits  no 
pomp  of  architectural  grandeur  or  refined  taste,  and  has  no 
pretensions  to  vie  with  the  magnificent  structures  of  other  coun- 
tries or  even  of  our  own.  Yet  it  is  a  goodly  and  venerable  pile  ; 
and,  with  its  recent  improvements,  is  an  oniament  of  the  place. 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  313 

of  whose  liberty  it  was  once  the  citadel.  J^nd  it  has  an  interest 
for  Bostonians  who  enter  it  this  day,  like  J,liat-..w.liick.  is.  feit  by 
ffl-Qwn  chil4i:£.n_for_^n  ancient  matron  by  w^iom  they  were 
reared^-4imd^wh.omt  visiting  after  years  of  absence,JJiey  find  her 
in  Jiex_ai£at,_  chaste,,  old-fashioned  attire,  spruced  up  to  receive 
:^hem.,  with  her  comforts  about  her,  and  the  same  kind,  hospi- 
table, and  excellent  creature,  whom  they  left  in  less  flourishing 
QU'cum|t_ajQces.  But  to  this  edifice  there  is  not  only  a  natural 
but  "  a  spuitual  body,"  which  is  the  immortal  soul  of  Independ- 
ence. Nor  is  there,  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  another  building, 
however  venerable  for  its  antiquity  or  stately  in  its  magnifi- 
cence, however  decorated  by  columns  and  porticos,  and  car- 
toons, and  statues,  and  altars,  and  outshining  "the  wealth  of 
Ormus  or  of  Ind,"  entitled  in  history  to  more  honorable  men- 
tion, or  whose  spires  and  tm'rets  are  surrounded  with  a  more 
glorious  halo,  than  this  unpretending  building. 

This  assertion  might  be  justified  by  a  review  of  the  parts  per- 
formed by  those  who  have  made  laws  for  a  centmy  after  the  first 
settlement  of  Boston  ;  of  their  early  contention  for  their  chartered 
rights  ;  of  then-  perils  and  difficulties  with  the  natives  ;  of  their 
costly  and  heroic  exertions  in  favor  of  the  mother  country  in  the 
common  cause.  But  I  pass  over  them  all,  replete  as  they  are 
with  interest,  with  wonder,  and  with  moral.  Events  posterior  to 
those  growing  out  of  them  indeed,  and  taking  from  them  their 
complexion,  are  considered  by  reflecting  men  as  having  pro-' 
duced  more  radical  changes  in  the  character,  relations,  prospects, 
and  (so  far  as  it  becomes  us  to  prophesy)  in  the  destinies  of  the 
human  family,  than  all  other  events  and  revolutions  that  have 
transpu-ed  since  the  Christian  era.  I  do  not  say  that  the  princi- 
ples which  have  led  to  these  events  originated  here.  But  I  ven- 
ture to  assert  that  here,  within  these  walls,  they  were  first  prac- 
tically applied  to  a  well-regulated  machinery  of  human  passions, 
conscious  rights,  and  steady  movements,  which,  forcing  these 
United  States  to  the  summit  of  prosperity,  has  been  adopted  as 
a  model  by  which  other  nations  have  been,  and  will  yet  be  pro- 
pelled on  the  raihoad  which  leads  to  universal  freedom.  The 
powder  of  these  engines  is  self-moving,  and  the  motion  is  perpe- 
tual. Sages  and  philosophers  had  discovered  that  the  world  was 
made  for  the  people  who  inhabit  it ;  and  that  kings  were  less 
entitled  in  thek  own  right  to  its  government  than  lions,  whose 

27 


314  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

claims  to  be  lords  of  the  forest  are  supported  by  physical  prow- 
ess. But  the  books  and  ti-eatises  which  maintained  these  doc- 
trines were  read  by  the  admirers  of  the  Lockes  and  Sidneys  and 
Miltons  and  Harringtons,  and  replaced  on  their  shelves  as  bril- 
liant theories.  Or,  if  they  impelled  to  occasional  action,  it 
ended  in  bringing  new  tyrants  to  the  throne  and  sincere  patriots 
to  the  scaffold.  But  your  progenitors  who  occupied  these  seats 
first  taught  a  whole  people  systematically  to  combine  the  united 
force  of  their  moral  and.  physical  energies  ;  to  learn  the  rights  of 
insun-ection,  not  as  written  in  the  language  of  the  passions,  but 
in  codes  and  digests  of  its  justifiable  cases ;  to  enforce  them 
under  the  restraints  of  discipline;  to  define  and  limit  its  objects ; 
to  be  content  with  success,  and  to  make  sure  of  its  advantages. 
All  this  they  did ;  and  when  the  propitious  hour  had  arrived, 
they  called  on  their  countrymen  as  the  angel  called  upon  the 
apostles,  — "  Come,  rise  up  quickly,  and  the  chains  fell  from 
their  hands."  The  inspiring  voice  echoed  through  the  weUdn  in 
Europe  and  America,  and  awakened  nations.  He  who  would 
learn  the  effects  of  it,  must  read  the  history  of  the  world  for  the 
last  half  century.  He  who  would  anticipate  the  consequences 
must  ponder  well  the  probabilities  with  which  time  is  pregnant 
for  the  next.  The  memory  of  these  men  is  entitled  to  a  full 
share  of  aU  the  honor  arising  from  the  advantage  derived  to 
mankind  from  this  change  of  condition,  but  yet  is  not  charge- 
able with  the  crimes  and  misfortunes,  more  than  is  the  memory 
of  Fulton  with  the  occasional  bursting  of  a  boiler. 

Shall  I  then  glance  rapidly  at  some  of  the  scenes  and  the 
actors  who  figured  in  them  within  these  walls  ?  Shall  I  carry 
you  back  to  the  controversies  between  Governor  Barnard  and 
the  House  of  Representatives,  commencing  nearly  seventy  years 
ago,  respecting  the  claims  of  the  mother  country  to  tax  the  Colo- 
nies without  their  consent  ?  To  the  stand  made  against  writs 
of  assistance  in  the  chamber  now  intended  for  your  Mayor  and 
Aldermen,  where  and  when,  according  to  John  Adams,  "  Inde- 
pendence was  born  ? "  and  whose  star  was  then  seen  in  the 
East  by  wise  men.  To  the  memorable  vindication  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  by  one  of  its  members  ?  To  the  "  Rights  of 
the  Colonies,"  adopted  by  the  Legislature  as  a  text  book,  and 
transmitted  by  their  order  to  the  British  Ministry  ?  To  the 
series  of  patriotic  resolutions,  protests,  and  State  papers,  teeming 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.        .  315 

with  indignant  eloquence  and  irresistible  argument  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  stamp  and  other  tax  acts  ?  To  the  landing  and  quar- 
tering of  troops  in  the  town  ?  To  the  rescindhig  of  resolutions 
in  obedience  to  royal  mandates  ?  To  the  removal  of  the  seat 
of  government,  and  the  untiring  struggle  in  which  the  Legisla- 
ture was  engaged  for  fourteen  or  fifteen  years,  supported  by  the 
Adamses,  the  Thachers,  the  Hawleys,  the  Hancocks,  the  Bow- 
doins,  the  Quincys,  and  their  illustrious  colleagues  ?  In  fact,  the 
most  important  measures  which  led  to  the  emancipation  of  the 
Colonies,  according  to  Hutchinson,  a  competent  judge,  origin- 
ated in  this  house,  in  this  apartment,  with  those  men,  who,  put- 
ting life  and  fortune  on  the  issue,  adopted  for  their  motto, — 

"  Let  such,  such  only  tread  this  sacred  floor 
Who  dare  to  love  their  country  and  be  poor." 

Events  of  a  different  complexion  are  also  associated  with  the 
Boston  Town  House.  At  one  time  it  was  desecrated  by  the 
King's  troops,  quartered  in  the  Representatives'  chamber,  and  on 
the  lower  floor.  At  another  time,  cannon  were  stationed  and 
pointed  toward  its  doors.  Below  the  balcony  in  King  Street,  on 
the  doleful  night  of  the  fifth  of  March,  the  blood  of  the  first  vic- 
tims to  the  military  executioners  was  shed.  On  the  appearance 
of  the  Governor  in  the  street,  he  was  surrounded  by  an  immense 
throng,  who,  to  prevent  mischief  to  his  person,  though  he  had 
lost  their  confidence,  forced  him  into  this  building,  with  theory 
"  to  the  Town  House  !  to  the  Town  House ! "  He  then  went 
forth  into  the  balcony,  and  promising  to  use  his  endeavors  to 
bring  the  offenders  to  justice,  and  advising  the  people  to  retire, 
they  dispersed,  vociferating  "home!  home!"  The  Governor 
and  Council  remained  all  night  deliberating  in  dismal  conclave, 
while  the  friends  of  their  country  bedewed  their  pillows  with 
tears,  — "  such  tears  as  patriots  shed  for  dying  laws."  But  I 
-would  not  wish,  under  any  circumstances,  to  dwell  upon  inci- 
dents like  these,  thankful  as  I  am  that  time,  which  has  secured 
our  freedom,  has  extinguished  our  resentments.  I  therefore  turn 
from  these  painful  reminiscences,  and  refer  you  to  the  day  when 
Independence,  mature  in  age  and  loveliness,  advanced  with 
angelic  grace  from  the  chamber  in  which  she  was  born  into  the 
same  balcony,  and  holding  in  her  hand  the  immortal  scroll  on 
which  her  name  and  character  and  claims  to  her  inheritance 


316  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

were  inscribed,  received  from  the  street,  filled  with  an  impene- 
trable phalanx,  and  windows  glittering  with  a  blaze  of  beauty, 
the  heartfelt  homage  and  electi-ifying  peals  of  the  men,  women, 
and  children  of  the  whole  city.  The  splendor  of  that  glorious 
vision  of  my  childhood  seems  to  be  now  present  to  my  view,  and 
the  harmony  of  that  universal  concert  to  vibrate  in  my  ear. 

Such,  gentlemen,  is  the  cursory  and  meagre  chronicle  of  the 
men  and  the  occurrences  which  have  given  celebrity  to  this 
building.  And  if  it  be  true,  that  we  are  now  before  the  altar, 
whence  the  coals  were  taken  which  have  kindled  the  flame  of 
liberty  in  two  hemispheres,  you  will  realize  with  me  the  senti- 
ment already  expressed,  that  the  most  interesting  associations 
of  the  eventful  history  of  the  age  might  rise  in  natural  trains, 
and  be  indulged  and  presented  on  this  occasion  without  violence 
to  propriety. 

We,  gentlemen,  have  now  become,  for  a  short  period,  occu- 
pants of  this  temple  of  Liberty.  Henceforth,  for  many  years, 
the  city  government  will  probably  be  here  administered.  The 
duties  of  its  members  are  less  arduous,  painful,  and  dignified 
than  those  of  the  eminent  persons  who  once  graced  these  seats, 
and  procured  for  us  the  privilege  of  admission  to  them.  Yet, 
let  not  these  duties  be  undervalued.  They  are  of  sufficient 
weight  and  importance  to  excite  a  conscientious  deske  in  good 
minds,  to  cultivate  a  public  spirit,  and  imitate  with  reverence 
great  examples.  There  is  ample  scope  for  dispositions  to  serve 
our  fellow-citizens  in  the  department  of  the  city  government. 
It  is  charged  with  concerns  affecting  the  daily  comfort  and 
prosperity  of  sixty  thousand  persons,  a  number  exceeding  that 
of  several  of  these  United  States  at  the  time  of  their  admission 
into  the  Union.  The  results  of  their  deliberations  have  an 
immediate  bearing  upon  the  morals,  health,  education,  and 
purse  of  this  community,  and  are  generally  of  more  interest  to 
their  feelings  and  welfare  than  the  ordinary  acts  of  State  legis- 
lation. It  is  a  community,  which  any  man  may  regard  as  a 
subject  of  just  pride  to  represent,  rivalled  by  none  in  orderly  and 
moral  habits,  general  intelligence,  commercial  and  mechanic 
skill,  a  spirit  of  national  enterprise,  and  above  all  a  vigilance 
for  the  interest  of  posterity  manifested  in  the  provision  made  for 
public  education.  No  state  of  society  can  be  found  more  happy 
and  attractive  than  yours.     Many  of  those  who  are  in  its  first 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  317 

ranks  rose  from  humble  beginnings,  and  hold  out  encourage- 
ment to  others  to  follow  their  steps.  There  is,  so  far  as  I  can 
judge,  more  real  equality,  and  a  more  general  acquaintance  and 
intercourse  among  the  different  vocations,  than  is  elsewhere  to 
be  found  in  a  populous  city.  Those  of  the  middling  class  as 
respects  wealth,  the  mechanics  and  the  workingmen.  are  not 
only  eligible,  but  constantly  elected  to  all  offices  in  state  and 
city,  in  such  proportion  as  they  (constituting  the  great  majority) 
see  fit  to  assign.  We  enjoy  the  blessings  of  a  healthy  chmate, 
delightful  position,  and  ample  resources  for  prosperity  in  com- 
merce, manufactures,  and  the  mechanic  arts,  all  of  which,  I  am 
persuaded,  are  at  this  moment  gradually  reviving,  after  some 
vicissitude  from  time  and  chance,  which  happen  to  all  things. 
May  we,  and  those  who  will  succeed  us,  appreciate  the  respon- 
sibleness  attached  to  our  places  by  the  merit  of  our  predeces- 
sors ;  and,  though  we  cannot  serve  our  country  to  the  same 
advantage,  may  we  love  it  with  equal  fidelity.  And  may  the 
Guardian  Genius  of  our  beloved  city  forever  delight  to  dwell  in 
these  renovated  walls ! 


27' 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

CITY   GOVEKmiENT.     1830. 

Harrison  Gray  Otis,  Mayor. 

Address  to  the  Citizens  of  Boston,  on  the  17th  of  September,  1830,  the  Close  of 
the  Second  Century  from  the  First  Settlement  of  the  City.  By  Josiah 
Quincy,  President  of  Harvard  University. 

Of  all  the  affections  of  man,  those  which  connect  him  with 
ancestry  are  among  the  most  natm'al  and  generous.  They 
enlarge  the  sphere  of  his  interests ;  multiply  his  motives  to 
virtue  ;  and  give  intensity  to  his  sense  of  duty  to  generations  to 
come,  by  the  perception  of  obligation  to  those  which  are  past. 
In  whatever  mode  of  existence  man  finds  himself,  be  it  savage 
or  civilized,  he  perceives  that  he  is  indebted  for  the  far  greater 
part  of  his  possessions  and  enjoyments,  to  events  over  which  he 
had  no  control ;  to  individuals,  whose  names,  perhaps,  never 
reached  his  ear ;  to  sacrifices,  in  which  he  never  shared ;  and 
to  sufferings,  awakening  in  his  bosom  few  and  very  transient 
sympathies. 

Cities  and  empires,  not  less  than  individuals,  are  chiefly 
indebted  for  their  fortunes  to  cncumstances  and  influences  inde- 
pendent of  the  labors  and  wisdom  of  the  passing  generation. 
Is  om*  lot  cast  in  a  happy  soil,  beneath  a  favored  sky,  and 
under  the  shelter  of  free  institutions  ?  How  few  of  all  these 
blessings  do  we  owe  to  oar  own  power,  or  our  own  prudence! 
How  few,  on  which  we  cannot  discern  the  impress  of  long  past 
generations ! 

It  is  natural,  that  reflections  of  this  kind  should  awaken  curi- 
osity concerning  the  men  of  past  ages.  It  is  suitable,  and 
characteristic  of  noble  natures,  to  love  to  trace  in  venerated 
institutions  the  evidences  of  ancestral  worth  and  wisdom ;  and 
to  cherish  that  mingled  sentiment  of  awe  and  admiration,  which 
takes  possession  of  the  soul,  in  the  presence  of  ancient,  deep- 
laid,  and  massy  monuments  of  intellectual  and  moral  power. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  319 

Under  impulses  thus  natural  and  generous,  at  the  invitation 
of  your  municipal  authorities,  you  have  assembled.  Citizens  of 
Boston,  on  this  day,  in  commemoration  of  the  era  of  the  found- 
ation of  your  city,  bearing  in  fond  recollection  the  virtues  of 
your  fathers,  to  pass  in  review  the  circumstances  which  formed 
their  character,  and  the  institutions  which  bear  its  stamp ;  to 
take  a  rapid  survey  of  that  broad  horizon,  which  is  resplendent 
with  their  glories ;  to  compress,  within  the  narrow  circle  of  an 
hour,  the  results  of  memory,  perception,  and  hope  ;  combining 
honor  to  the  past,  gratitude  for  the  present,  and  fidelity  to  the 
future. 

Standing,  after  the  lapse  of  two  centuries,  on  the  very  spot 
selected  for  us  by  our  fathers,  and  surrounded  by  social,  moral, 
and  religious  blessings  greater  than  paternal  love,  in  its  fondest 
visions,  ever  dared  to  fancy,  we  naturally  turn  our  eyes  back- 
ward, on  the  descending  current  of  years  ;  seeking  the  causes  of 
that  prosperity,  which  has  given  this  city  so  distinguished  a 
name  and  rank  among  similar  associations  of  men. 

Happily  its  foundations  were  not  laid  in  dark  ages,  nor  is  its 
origin  to  be  sought  among  loose  and  obscure  traditions.  The 
age  of  our  early  ancestors  was,  in  many  respects,  eminent  for 
learning  and  civilization.  Our  ancestors  themselves  were  deeply 
versed  in  the  knowledge  and  attainments  of  their  period.  Not 
only  their  motives  and  acts  appear  in  the  general  histories  of 
their  time,  but  they  are  unfolded  in  their  own  writings,  with ,  a 
simplicity  and  boldness,  at  once  commanding  admiration  and 
not  permitting  mistake.  If  this  condition  of  things  restrict  the 
imagination  in  its  natural  tendency  to  exaggerate,  it  assists  the 
judgment  rightly  to  analyze,  and  justly  to  appreciate.  If  it 
deny  the  power,  enjoyed  by  ancient  cities  and  states,  to  elevate 
our  ancestors  above  the  condition  of  humanity,  it  confers  a  much 
more  precious  privilege,  that  of  estimating  by  unequivocal  stand- 
ards the  intellectual  and  moral  greatness  of  the  early,  interven- 
ing, and  passing  periods  ;  and  thus  of  judging  concerning  com- 
parative attainment  and  progress  in  those  qualities  which  con- 
stitute the  dignity  of  our  species.  Instead  of  looking  back,  as 
antiquity  was  accustomed  to  do,  on  fabling  legends  of  giants 
and  heroes,  —  of  men  exceeding  in  size,  in  strength,  and  in 
labor,  all  experience  and  history,  and  consequently,  being  obliged 
to  contemplate  the   races  of  men,  dwindling   with  time,  and 


320  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

growing  less  amid  increasing  stimulants  and  advantages ;  we 
are  thus  enabled  to  view  things  in  lights  more  conformed  to  the 
natural  suggestions  of  reason,  and  the  actual  results  of  observa- 
tion ;  —  to  witness  improvement  in  its  slow  but  sure  progress ; 
in  a  general  advance,  constant  and  unquestionable ;  —  to  pay 
due  honors  to  the  greatness  and  vu'tues  of  our  early  ancestors, 
and  be,  at  the  same  time,  just  to  the  not  inferior  greatness  and 
vu-tues  of  succeeding  generations  of  men,  their  descendants  and 
our  progenitors.  Thus  we  substantiate  the  cheering  conviction, 
that  the  virtues  of  ancient  times  have  not  been  lost,  or  debased, 
in  the  course  of  their  descent,  but,  in  many  respects,  have  been 
refined  and  elevated  ;  and  so,  standing  faithful  to  the  generations 
which  are  past,  and  fearless  in  the  presence  of  the  generations  to 
come,  we  accumulate  on  our  own  times  the  responsibility,  that 
an  inheritance,  which  has  descended  to  us  enlarged  and  im- 
proved, shall  not  be  transmitted  by  us  diminished  or^deteriorated. 
As  our  thoughts  course  along  the  events  of  past  times,  from 
the  hour  of  the  first  settlement  of  Boston  to  that  in  which  we 
are  now  assembled,  they  trace  the  strong  features  of  its  charac- 
ter, indelibly  impressed  upon  its  acts  and  in  its  history,  —  clear 
conceptions  of  duty ;  bold  vindications  of  right ;  readiness  to 
incur  dangers  and  meet  sacrifices,  in  the  maintenance  of  liberty, 
civil  and  religious.  Early  selected  as  the  place  of  the  chief 
settlement  of  New  England,  it  has,  through  every  subsequent 
period,  maintained  its  relative  ascendency.  In  the  arts  of  peace 
and  in  the  energies  of  war,  in  the  virtues  of  prosperity  and 
adversity,  in  wisdom  to  plan  and  vigor  to  execute,  in  extensive- 
ness  of  enterprise,  success  in  accumulating  wealth,  and  liberality 
in  its  distribution,  its  inhabitants,  if  not  unrivalled,  have  not 
been  surpassed,  by  any  similar  society  of  men.  Through  good 
report  and  evil  report,  its  influence  has  at  all  times  been  so  dis- 
tinctly seen  and  acknowledged  in  events,  and  been  so  decisive 
on  the  destinies  of  the  region  of  which  it  was  the  head,  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  adjoining  colonies  of  a  foreign  nation  early 
gave  the  name  of  this  place  to  the  whole  country ;  and  at  this 
day,  among  their  descendants,  the  people  of  the  whole  United 
States  1  are  distinguished  by  the  name  of  "  Bostonians." 

1  Bostonais.  The  name  is  thus  applied,  at  this  day,  by  the  Canadian  French. 
During  our  Revolutionary  War,  Americans  from  the  United  States  were  thus 
designated  in  France.     Nor  was  the  custom  wholly  discontinued  even  as  late  as 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  321 

Amidst  perils  and  obstructions,  on  the  bleak  side  of  the 
mountain  on  which  it  was  first  cast,  the  seedling  oak,  self- 
rooted,  shot  upward  with  a  determined  vigor.  Now  slighted 
and  now  assailed ;  amidst  alternating  sunshine  and  storm ;  with 
the  axe  of  a  native  foe  at  its  root,  and  the  lightning  of  a  foreign 
power,  at  times,  scathing  its  top,  or  withering  its  branches,  it 
grew,  it  flourished,  it  stands — may  it  forever  stand!  —  the 
honor  of  the  field. 

On  this  occasion,  it  is  proper  to  speak  of  the  founders  of  our 
city,  and  of  their  glory.  Now  in  its  true  acceptation,  the  term 
glory  expresses  the  splendor,  which  emanates  from  virtue  in  the 
act  of  producing  general  and  permanent  good.  Right  concep- 
tions, then,  of  the  glory  of  our  ancestors,  are  alone  to  be  attained 
by  analyzing  their  virtues.  These  vu'tues,  indeed,  are  not  seen 
charactered  in  breathing  bronze,  or  in  living  marble.  Our  ances- 
tors have  left  no  Corinthian  temples  on  our  hills,  no  Gothic 
cathedrals  on  our  plains,  no  proud  pyramid,  no  storied  obelisk, 
in  our  cities.  But  mind  is  there.  Sagacious  enterprise  is  there. 
An  active,  vigorous,  intelligent,  moral  population  throng  our 
cities,  and  predominate  in  our  fields ;  men,  patient  of  labor, 
submissive  to  law,  respectful  to  authority,  regardful  of  right, 
faithful  to  liberty.  These  are  the  monuments  of  our  ancestors. 
They  stand  immutable  and  immortal,  in  the  social,  moral,  and 
intellectual  condition  of  their  descendants.  They  exist  in  the 
spirit  which  their  precepts  instilled,  and  their  example  implanted,. 
Let  no  man  think,  that,  to  analyze  and  place  in  a  just  light  the 
virtues  of  the  first  settlers  of  New  England,  is  a  departure  from 
the  purpose  of  this  celebration ;  or  deem  so  meanly  of  our 
duties,  as  to  conceive  that  merely  local  relations,  the  circum- 
stances which  have  given  celebrity  and  character  to  this  single 
city,  are  the  only,  or  the  most  appropriate  topics  for  the  occa- 
sion. It  was  to  this  spot,  during  twelve  successive  years,  that 
tha  great  body  of  those  first  settlers  emigrated.  In  this  place, 
they  either  fixed  permanently  their  abode,  or  took  their  depart- 
ure from  it  for  the  coast,  or  the  interior.  Whatever  honor 
devolves  on  this  metropolis  from  the  events  connected  wdth  its 

tlie  year  1795.  "We  may  remark,"  says  a  writer  in  the  Collections  of  the 
Massachu.'^etts  Historical  Society,  (Vol.  vi.,  First  Series,  p.  69,)  "that  Boston 
was  not  only  the  capital  of  Massachusetts,  but  the  town  most  celebrated  of  any 
in  North  America.  Its  trade  was  extensive  ;  and  the  name  often  stands  for  the 
country  in  old  authors." 


322  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

first  settlement,  is  not  solitary  or  exclusive;  it  is  shared  with 
Massachusetts ;  with  New  England ;  in  some  sense,  with  the 
whole  United  States.  For  what  part  of  this  wide  empire,  be  it 
sea  or  shore,  lake  or  river,  mountain  or  valley,  have  the  descend- 
ants of  the  first  settlers  of  New  England  not  traversed  ?  what 
depth  of  forest,  not  penetrated  ?  what  danger  of  nature  or  man, 
not  defied  ?  Where  is  the  cultivated  field,  in  redeeming  which 
from  the  wilderness,  their  vigor  has  not  been  displayed  ?  Where, 
amid  unsubdued  nature,  by  the  side  of  the  first  log  hut  of  the 
settler,  does  the  school-house  stand  and  the  church  spke  rise, 
unless  the  sons  of  New  England  are  there  ?  Where  does  im- 
provement advance,  under  the  active  energy  of  willing  hearts 
and  ready  hands,  prostrating  the  moss-covered  monarchs  of  the 
wood,  and  from  their  ashes,  amid  their  charred  roots,  bidding  the 
greensward  and  the  waving  harvest  to  upspring,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  fathers  of  New  England  is  not  seen,  hovering,  and  shed- 
ding around  the  benign  influences  of  sound,  social,  moral,  and  refi- 
gious  institutions,  stronger  and  more  enduring  than  knotted  oak, 
or  tempered  steel  ?  The  swelling  tide  of  their  descendants  has 
spread  upon  our  coasts ;  ascended  our  rivers ;  taken  possession 
of  our  plains.  Already  it  encircles  our  lakes.  At  this  hour  the 
rushing  noise  of  the  advancing  wave  startles  the  wild  beast  in 
his  lair  among  the  prairies  of  the  West.  Soon  it  shall  be  seen 
climbing  the  Rocky  Mountains  ;  and,  as  it  dashes  over  their 
cliffs,  shall  be  hailed  by  the  dwellers  on  the  Pacific,  as  the  har- 
binger of  the  coming  blessings  of  safety,  liberty,  and  truth. 

The  glory,  which  belongs  to  the  vhtues  of  our  ancestors,  is 
seen  radiating  from  the  natm-e  of  their  design ;  from  the  spirit 
in  which  it  was  executed  ;  and  from  the  character  of  their  insti- 
tutions. 

That  emigration  of  Englishmen,  which,  two  centuries  ago, 
resulted  in  the  settlement,  on  this  day,  of  this  metropolis,  was 
distinguished  by  the  comparative  greatness  of  the  means  em- 
ployed, and  the  number,  rank,  fortune,  and  intellectual  endow- 
ments of  those  engaged  in  it,  as  leaders,  or  associates.  Twelve 
ships,  transporting  somewhat  less  than  nine  hundred  souls, 
constituted  the  physical  strength  of  the  first  enterprise.  In  the 
course  of  the  twelve  succeeding  years,  twenty-two  thousand 
souls  emigrated  in  one  hundred  and  ninety-two  ships,  at  a  cost, 
including  the  private  expenses  of  the  adventurers,  which  cannot 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  323 

be  estimated  in  our  currency,  at  less  than  one  million  of  dollars. 
At  that  time  the  tide  of  emigration  was  stayed.  Intelligent 
writers  of  the  last  century  assert,  that  more  persons  had  subse- 
quently gone  from  New  England  to  Europe,  than  had  come  to 
it  during  the  same  period  from  that  quarter  of  the  globe.  A 
cotemporary  historian^  represents  the  leaders  of  the  first  emigra- 
tion, as  "  gentlemen  of  good  estate  and  reputation,  descended 
from,  or  connected  by  marriage  with,  noble  families ;  having 
large  means,  and  great  yearly  revenue  sufficient  in  all  reason  to 
content ;  their  tables  abundant  in  food,  their  coffers  in  coin ; 
possessing  beautiful  houses,  filled  with  rich  furniture ;  gainful  in 
their  business,  and  growing  rich  daily ;  well  provided  for  them- 
selves, and  having  a  sure  competence  for  their  children ;  want- 
ing nothing  of  a  worldly  nature  to  complete  the  prospects  of  ease 
and  enjoyment,  or  which  could  contribute  to  the  pleasures,  the 
prospects,  or  the  splendors  of  life." 

The  question  forces  itself  on  the  mind.  Why  did  such  men 
emigrate  ?  Why  did  men  of  their  condition  exchange  a  plea- 
sant and  prosperous  home  for  a  repulsive  and  cheerless  wilder- 
ness ;  a  civilized  for  a  barbarous  vicinity  ?  Why,  quitting 
peaceful  and  happy  dwellings,  dare  the  dangers  of  tempestuous 
and  unexplored  seas,  the  rigors  of  untried  and  severe  climates, 
the  difficulties  of  a  hard  soil,  and  the  inhuman  warfare  of  a 
savage  foe  ?  An  answer  must  be  sought  in  the  character  of  the 
times ;  and  in  the  spirit,  which  the  condition  of  their  native 
country  and  age  had  a  direct  tendency  to  excite  and  cherish. 

The  general  civil  and  religious  aspect  of  the  English  nation, 
in  the  age  of  our  ancestors,  and  in  that  immediately  preceding 
their  emigration,  was  singularly  hateful  and  repulsive.  A  foreign 
hierarchy,  contending  with  a  domestic  despotism  for  infaUibifity 
and  supremacy,  in  matters  of  faith.  Confiscation,  imprison- 
ment, the  axe  and  the  stake,  approved  and  customary  means 
of  -making  proselytes  and  promoting  uniformity.  The  fires  of 
Smithfield,  now  lighted  by  the  corrupt  and  selfish  zeal  of  Roman 
pontiffs  ;  and  now  rekindled,  by  the  no  less  corrupt  and  selfish 
zeal  of  English  sovereigns.  All  men  clamorous  for  the  rights 
of  conscience,  when  in  subjection;  all  actively  persecuting, 
when  in  authority.     Everywhere  religion  considered  as  a  state 

1  Johnson's  •'  Wonder-Worhing  Providence  of  Sion's  Saviour  in  New  Eng- 
land," cL  12. 


324  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

entity,  and  having  apparently  no  real  existence,  except  in  asso- 
ciations in  support  of  established  power,  or  in  opposition  to  it. 

The  moral  aspect  of  the  age  was  not  less  odious  than  its 
civil.  Every  benign  and  characteristic  virtue  of  Christianity 
was  publicly  conjoined,  in  close  alliance  with  its  most  offensive 
opposite.  Humility  wearing  the  tiara,  and  brandishing  the 
keys,  in  the  excess  of  the  pride  of  temporal  and  spiritual  power. 
The  Roman  pontiff,  under  the  title  of  "  the  servant  of  servants," 
with  his  foot  on  the  neck  of  every  monarch  in  Christendom ; 
and  under  the  seal  of  the  fisherman  of  Galilee,  dethroning  kings 
and  giving  away  kingdoms.  Purity,  content,  and  self-denial 
preached  by  men,  who  held  the  wealth  of  Europe  tributary  to 
then  luxury,  sensuality,  and  spiritual  pride.  Brotherly  love  in 
the  mouth,  whUe  the  hand  applied  the  instrument  of  torture. 
Charity,  mutual  forbearance,  and  forgiveness  chanted  in  unison 
with  clanking  chains  and  crackling  fagots. 

Nor  was  the  intellectual  aspect  of  the  age  less  repulsive  than 
its  civil  and  moral.  The  native  charm  of  the  religious  feeling 
lost,  or  disfigured  amidst  forms,  and  ceremonies,  and  disciplines. 
By  one  class,  piety  was  identified  with  copes,  and  crosiers,  and 
tippets,  and  genuflexions.  By  another  class,  all  these  were 
abhorred  as  the  tricks  and  conjuring  garments  of  popery,  or  at 
best,  in  the  language  of  Calvin,  as  "  tolerable  fooleries ; "  whUe 
they,  on  their  part,  identified,  piety  with  looks,  and  language, 
and  gestures,  extracted  or  typified  from  Scripture,  and  fashioned 
according  to  the  newest  "  pattern  of  the  mount."  By  none 
were  the  rights  of  private  judgment  acknowledged.  By  all, 
creeds,  and  dogmas,  and  confessions,  and  catechisms,  collected 
from  Scripture  with  metaphysical  skill,  arranged  with  reference 
to  temporal  power  and  influence,  and  erected  into  standards  of 
faith,  w^ere  made  the  flags  and  rallying  points  of  the  spiritual 
swordsmen  of  the  church  militant. 

The  first  emotion,  which  this  view  of  that  period  excites,  at 
the  present  day,  is  contempt  or  disgust.  But  the  men  of  that 
age  are  no  more  responsible  for  the  mistakes  into  which  they 
fell,  under  the  circumstances  in  which  the  intellectual  eye 
was  then  placed,  than  we,  at  this  day,  for  those  optical  illusions 
to  which  the  natural  eye  is  subject,  before  time  and  experience 
have  corrected  the  judgment,  and  instructed  it  in  the  true  laws 
of  nature  and  vision.     It  was  their  fate  to  live  in  the  crepuscular 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  325 

state  of  the  intellectual  day,  and  by  the  law  of  then-  nature  they 
were  compelled  to  see  things  darkly,  through  false  and  shifting 
mediums,  and  in  lights  at  once  dubious  and  deceptive.  For 
centuries,  a  night  of  Egyptian  darkness  had  overspread  Europe, 
in  the  "  palpable  obscure  "  of  which,  priests  and  monarchs  and 
nobles  had  not  only  found  means  to  inthral  the  minds  of  the 
multitude,  but  absolutely  to  lose  and  bewilder  their  own.  When 
the  light  of  learning  began  to  dawn,  the  first  rays  of  the  rising 
splendor  dazzled  and  confused,  rather  than  directed  the  mind. 
As  the  coming  light  penetrated  the  thick  darkness,  the  ancient 
cumulative  cloud  severed  into  new  forms.  Its  broken  masses 
became  tinged  with  an  uncertain  and  shifting  radiance.  Sha- 
dows assumed  the  aspect  of  substances ;  the  evanescent  sugges- 
tions of  fancy,  the  look  of  fixed  realities.  The  wise  were  at  a 
loss  what  to  believe,  or  what  to  discredit;  how  to  quit,  and 
where  to  hold.  On  all  sides  sprang  up  sects  and  parties,  infinite 
in  number,  incomprehensible  in  doctrine  ;  often  imperceptible  in 
difference ;  yet  each  claiming  for  itself  infallibility,  and,  in  the 
sphere  it  affected  to  influence,  supremacy ;  each  violent  and 
hostile  to  the  others,  haughty  and  hating  its  non-adhering 
brother,  in  a  spirit  wholly  repugnant  to  the  humility  and  love 
inculcated  by  that  religion,  by  which  each  pretended  to  be  actu- 
ated ;  and  ready  to  resort,  when  it  had  power,  to  corporal  penal- 
ties, even  to  death  itself,  as  allowed  modes  of  self-defence  and 
proselytism. 

It  was  the  fate  of  the  ancestors  of  New  England  to  have  their 
lot  cast  in  a  state  of  society  thus  unprecedented.  They  were 
of  that  class  of  the  English  nation,  in  whom  the  systematic  per- 
secutions of  a  concentrated,  civil,  and  ecclesiastical  despotism 
had  enkindled  an  intense  interest  concerning  man's  social  and 
religious  rights.  Their  sufferings  had  created  in  their  minds  a 
vivid  and  inextinguishable  love  of  civil  and  religious  liberty ;  a 
fixed  resolve,  at  every  peril,  to  assert  and  maintain  their  natural 
rights.  Among  the  boldest  and  most  intelligent  of  this  class  of 
men,  chiefly  known  by  the  name  of  Puritans,  were  the  founders 
of  this  metropolis.  To  a  superficial  view,  their  zeal  seems 
directed  to  forms  and  ceremonies  and  discipKnes  which  have 
become  at  this  day  obsolete  or  modified,  and  so  seems  mistaken 
or  misplaced.  But  the  wisdom  of  zeal  for  any  object  is  not  to 
be  measured  by  the  particular  nature  of  that  object^  but  by  the 
28 


326  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

nature  of  the  principle,  which  the  cu'cumstances  of  the  times  or 
of  society  have  identified  with  such  object.  Liberty,  whether 
civil  or  religious,  is  among  the  noblest  objects  of  human  regard. 
Yet,  to  a  being  constituted  like  man,  abstract  liberty  has  no 
existence,  and  over  him  no  practical  influence.  To  be  for  him 
an  efficient  principle  of  action,  it  must  be  embodied  in  some 
sensible  object.  Thus,  the  form  of  a  cap,  the  color  of  a  surplice, 
ship-money,  a  tax  on  tea  or  on  stamped  paper,  objects  in  them- 
selves indifferent,  have  been  so  inseparably  identified  with  the 
principle  temporarily  connected  with  them,  that  martyrs  have 
died  at  the  stake,  and  patriots  have  fallen  in  the  field,  and  this 
wisely  and  nobly  for  the  sake  of  the  principle,  made  by  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  time  to  inhere  in  them. 

Now,  in  the  age  of  our  fathers,  the  principle  of  civil  and  reli- 
gious liberty  became  identified  with  forms,  disciplines,  and 
modes  of  worship.  The  zeal  of  our  fathers  was  graduated  by 
the  importance  of  the  inhering  principle.  This  gave  elevation 
to  that  zeal.  This  creates  interest  in  their  sufferings.  This 
entitles  them  to  rank  among  patriots  and  martyrs  who  have 
voluntarily  sacrificed  themselves  to  the  cause  of  conscience  and 
their  country.  Indignant  at  being  denied  the  enjoyment  of  the 
rights  of  conscience,  which  were  in  that  age  identified  with  those 
sensible  objects,  and  resolute  to  vindicate  them,  they  quitted 
country  and  home,  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and,  without  other 
auspices  than  their  own  strength  and  their  confidence  in  heaven, 
they  proceeded  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  commonwealth,  under 
the  principles,  and  by  the  stamina  of  which,  their  posterity  have 
established  an  actual  and  uncontroverted  independence,  not  less 
happy  than  glorious.  To  their  enthusiastic  vision  all  the  com- 
forts of  life  and  all  the  pleasures  of  society  were  light  and  worth- 
less in  comparison  with  the  liberty  they  sought.  The  tempest- 
uous sea  was  less  dreadful  than  the  troubled  waves  of  civil  dis- 
cord ;  the  quicksands,  the  unknown  shoals,  and  unexplored 
shores  of  a  savage  coast,  less  fearful  than  the  metaphysical 
abysses  and  perpetually  shifting  whirlpools  of  despotic  ambi- 
tion and  ecclesiastical  policy  and  intrigue;  the  bow  and  the 
tomahawk  of  the  transatlantic  barbarian,  less  terrible  than  the 
flame  and  fagot  of  the  civilized  Em-opean.  In  the  calm  of  our 
present  peace  and  prosperity,  it  is  difficult  for  us  to  realize  or 
appreciate  their  sorrows   and  sacrifices.     They  sought  a  new 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  327 

world,  lying  far  off  in  space,  destitute  of  all  the  attractions  which 
make  home  and  native  land  dear  and  venerable.  Instead  of 
cultivated  fields  and  a  civilized  neighborhood,  the  prospect  before 
them  presented  nothing  but  dreary  wastes,  cheerless  climates, 
and  repulsive  wildernesses  possessed  by  wild  beasts  and  sava- 
ges ;  the  intervening  ocean  unexplored  and  intersected  by  the 
fleets  of  a  hostile  nation ;  its  usual  dangers  multiplied  to  the 
fancy,  and,  in  fact,  by  ignorance  of  real  hazards  and  natural 
fears  of  such  as  the  event  proved  to  be  imaginary. 

"  Pass  on,"  exclaims  one  of  these  adventurers,^  "  and  attend, 
while  these  soldiers  of  faith  ship  for  this  western  world ;  while 
they  and  their  wives  and  theu*  little  ones  take  an  eternal  leave 
of  their  country  and  kindred.  With  what  heart-breaking  affec- 
tion did  they  press  loved  friends  to  their  bosoms  whom  they 
were  never  to  see  again !  their  voices  broken  by  grief,  till  tears 
streaming  eased  their  hearts  to  recovered  speech  again ;  natural 
affections  clamorous,  as  they  take  a  perpetual  banishment  from 
their  native  soil ;  their  enterprise  scorned;  their  motives  derided; 
and  they  counted  but  madmen  and  fools.  But  time  shall  dis- 
cover the  wisdom  with  which  they  were  endued,  and  the  sequel 
shall  show  how  their  policy  overtopped  all  the  human  policy  of 
this  world." 

Winthrop,  their  leader  and  historian,  in  his  simple  narrative 
of  the  voyage,  exhibits  them,  when  in  severe  sufferings,  resigned ; 
in  instant  expectation  of  battle,  fearless ;  amid  storm,  sickness, 
and  death,  calm,  confident,  and  undismayed.  "  Our  trust,"  says 
he,  "  was  in  the  Lord  of  hosts."  For  years,  Winthrop,  the 
leader  of  the  first  great  enterprise,  was  the  Chief  Magistrate  of 
the  infant  metropolis.  His  prudence  guided  its  councils.  His 
valor  directed  its  strength.  His  life  and  fortune  were  spent  in 
fixing  its  character,  or  in  improving  its  destinies.  A  bolder 
spirit  never  dwelt,  a  truer  heart  never  beat  in  any  bosom.  Had 
Boston,  like  Rome,  a  consecrated  calendar,  there  is  no  name 
better  entitled  than  that  of  Winthrop  to  be  registered  as  its 
"  patron  saint." 

From  Salem  and  Charlestown,  the  places  of  their  first  land- 
ing, they  ranged  the  Bay  of  Massachusetts  to  fix  the  head  of  the 
settlement.     After  much  deliberation,  and  not  without  opposi- 

1  Johnson,  in  his  Wonder-Worlcinff  Providences  of  Sion's  Saviour  in  New 
England,  ch.  xii. 


328  MUNICIPAL  mSTORY. 

tion,  they  selected  this  spot,  known  to  the  natives  by  the  name 
of  Shawmut,  and  to  the  adjoining  settlers  by  that  of  Trimounl- 
ain ;  the  former  indicating  the  abundance  and  sweetness  of  its 
waters  ;  the  latter,  the  peculiar  character  of  its  hills. 

Accustomed  as  we  are  to  the  beauties  of  the  place  and  its 
vicinity,  and  in  the  daily  perception  of  the  charms  of  its  almost 
unrivalled  scenery,  —  in  the  centre  of  a  natm'al  amphitheatre, 
whose  sloping  descents  the  riches  of  a  laborious  and  intellectual 
cultivation  adorn,  —  where  hill  and  vale,  river  and  ocean,  island 
and  continent,  simple  natm'e  and  unobtrusive  art,  with  con- 
trasted and  interchanging  harmonies,  form  a  rich  and  gorgeous 
landscape,  we  are  little  able  to  realize  the  almost  repulsive 
aspect  of  its  original  state.  We  wonder  at  the  blindness  of 
those  who,  at  one  time,  constituted  the  majority,  and  had  well- 
nigh  fixed  elsewhere  the  chief  seat  of  the  settlement.  Nor  are 
we  easily  just  to  Winthrop,  Johnson,  and  their  associates,  whose 
skill  and  judgment  selected  this  Spot,  and  whose  firmness  settled 
the  wavering  minds  of  the  multitude  upon  it,  as  the  place  for 
their  metropolis ;  a  decision  which  the  experience  of  two  centu- 
ries has  ii-revocably  justified,  and  which  there  is  no  reason  to 
apprehend  that  the  events  or  opinions  of  any  century  to  come 
will  reverse. 

To  the  eyes  of  the  first  emigrants,  however,  where  now  exists 
a  dense  and  aggregated  mass  of  living  beings  and  material 
things,  amid  all  the  accommodations  of  life,  the  splendors  of 
wealth,  the  delights  of  taste,  and  whatever  can  gratify  the  culti- 
vated intellect,  there  were  then  only  a  few  hills,  which,  when  the 
ocean  receded,  were  intersected  by  wide  marshes,  and  when  its 
tide  retm-ned,  appeared  a  group  of  lofty  islands,  abruptly  rising 
from  the  surrounding  waters.  Thick  forests  concealed  the 
neighboring  hills,  and  the  deep  silence  of  nature  was  broken 
only  by  the  voice  of  the  wild  beast  or  bird  and  the  warwhoop  of 
the  savage. 

The  advantages  of  the  place  were,  however,  clearly  marked 
by  the  hand  of  nature  ;  combining  at  once  present  convenience, 
future  security,  and  an  ample  basis  for  permanent  gi'owth  and 
prosperity.  Towards  the  continent  it  possessed  but  a  single 
avenue,  and  that  easily  fortified.  Its  hills  then  commanded,  not 
only  its  own  waters,  but  the  hills  of  the  vicinity.  At  the  bottom 
of  a  deep  bay,  its  harbor  was  capable  of  containing  the  proudest 


CITY  GOVEKNMENT.  329 

navy  of  Europe ;  yet,  locked  by  islands,  and  guarded  by  wind- 
ing channels,  it  presented  great  difficulty  of  access  to  strangers, 
and  to  the  inhabitants  great  facility  of  protection  against  mari- 
time invasion  ;  whUe  to  those  acquainted  with  its  waters,  it  was 
both  easy  and  accessible.  To  these  advantages  were  added 
goodness  and  plenteousness  of  water,  and  the  security  afforded 
by  that  once  commanding  height,  now,  alas!  obliterated  and 
almost  forgotten,  since  art  and  industry  have  levelled  the  predo- 
minating mountain  of  the  place ;  from  whose  lofty  and  impos- 
ing top  the  beacon  fire  was  accustomed  to  rally  the  neighboring 
population  on  any  threatened  danger  to  the  metropolis.  A  sin- 
gle cottage,  from  which  ascended  the  smoke  of  the  hospitable 
hearth  of  Blackstone,  who  had  occupied  the  peninsula  several 
years,  was  the  sole  civilized  mansion  in  the  solitude ;  the  kind 
master  of  which,  at  first,  welcomed  the  coming  emigrants  ;  but 
soon,  disliking  the  sternness  of  their  manners  and  the  severity  of 
their  discipline,  abandoned  the  settlement.  His  rights,  as  first 
occupant,  were  recognized  by  our  ancestors  ;  and,  in  November, 
1634,  Edmund  Quincy,  Samuel  Wildbore,  and  others,  were 
authorized  to  assess  a  rate  of  thkty  pounds  for  Mr.  Blackstone,^ 
on  the  payment  of  which  all  local  rights  in  the  peninsula  became 
vested  in  its  inhabitants. 

The  same  bold  spirit  which  thus  led  our  ancestors  across  the 
Atlantic,  and  made  them  prefer  a  wilderness  where  fiberty  might 
be  enjoyed,  to  civilized  Europe  where  it  was  denied,  will  be 
found  characterizing  all  their  institutions.  Of  these,  the  limits 
of  the  time  permit  me  to  speak  only  in  general  terms.  The 
scope  of  their  policy  has  been  usually  regarded  as  though  it  were 
restricted  to  the  acquisition  of  religious  liberty  in  the  relation  of 
colonial  dependence.  No  man,  however,  can  truly  understand 
their  institutions  and  the  policy  on  which  they  were  founded, 
without  taking  as  the  basis  of  all  reasonings  concerning  them, 
that  civil  independence  luas  as  truly  their  object  as  religious 
liberty ;  ^  in  other  words,  that  the  possession  of  the  former  was, 

1  Wintlirop,  vol.  i.  p.  45  ;  note  by  J.  Savage. 

2  The  testimony  of  Chalmers,  in  his  Political  Annals  of  the  United  Colonies, 
to  the  early  and  uncleviating  spirit  of  independence  which  actuated  the  first 
emigrants  to  Massachusetts,  is  constant,  unequivocal,  and  conclusive.  Those 
annals  were  written  during  the  American  Revolution,  and  published  in  tlie  year 
1 780,  in  the  heat  of  that  controversy,  and  iinder  the  auspices  of  the  British 
government.     A  few  extracts  from  that  work,  tending  to  show  the  pertinacious 

28* 


330'  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

in  their  opinion,  the  essential  means,  indispensable  to  the  secure 
enjoyment  of  the  latter,  which  was  their  great  end. 

The  master-passion  of  om-  early  ancestors  was  dread  of  the 

spirit  of  independence  whicli  characterized  our  ancestors,  and  corroborative  of 
the  position  maintained  in  the  text,  cannot  fail  to  be  interesting. 

"The  charter  of  Charles  L,  obtained  in  March,  1628-9,  was  the  only  one 
which  Massachusetts  possessed  prior  to  the  Revolution  of  1688,  and  contained  its 
most  ancient  privileges.  On  this  ivas  most  dexterously  engrafted,  not  only  the  ori- 
ginal government  of  that  colony,  hut  even  independence  itself"  Book  I.  c.  vi. 
p.  136. 

"The  nature  of  their  government  was  now  (1634)  changed  by  a  variety  of 
reo-ulations,  the  legality  of  which  cannot  easily  be  supported  by  any  other  than 
those  principles  of  independence  which  sp>rang  up  among  them,  and  have  at  cdl 
times  governed  their  actions."     Book  I.  p.  158. 

Concerning  the  confederation  entered  into  by  the  United  Colonies  of  New 
England  in  1643,  Chalmers  thus  expresses  himself. 

"The  most  inattentive  must  perceive  the  exact  resemblance  that  confedera- 
tion bears  to  a  similar  junction  of  the  Colonies,  more  recent,  [that  of  1775] 
extensive,  and  powerful.  Both  originated  from  Massachusetts, uxlways  fruitful  in 
projects  of  independence.  Wise  men  at  the  era  of  both  reniarhed,  that  those 
memorable  associations  established  a  complete  system  of  absolute  sovereignty, 
because  the  principles  upon  which  it  was  erected  necessarilt  led  to  what 

IT  WAS  NOT  THE  POLICT  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  AGENTS  AT  EITHER  PERIOD  TO 
AYOW ! 

"  The  principles  upon  which  this  famous  association  [that  of  1643]  was  formed, 
were  altogether  those  of  independency,  and  it  cannot  easily  be  supported  on 
any  other.  The  consent  of  the  governing  powers  in  England  was  never  a^Dplied 
for,  and  was  never  given."     Book  I.  c.  viii.  pp.  177,  178. 

"  Principles  of  aggrandisement  seem  constantly  to  have  been  had  in  view  by 
Massachusetts,  as  the  only  rule  of  its  conduct."     Book  I.  p.  180. 

"  Massachusetts,  in  conformity  to  Its  accustomed  principles,  acted,  during  the 
civil  wars,  almost  altogether  as  an  independent  state.  It  formed  leagues,  not 
only  with  the  neighboring  colonies,  but  with  foreign  nations,  without  the  con- 
sent or  knowledge  of  the  government  of  England.  It  permitted  no  appeals 
from  its  courts  to  the  judicatories  of  the  sovereign  State,  Avithout  which  a  depend- 
ence cannot  be  preserved  or  enforced  ;  and  It  refused  to  exercise  its  jurisdic- 
tion in  the  name  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England.  It  assumed  the  government 
of  that  part  of  New  England  which  is  now  called  New  Hampshire,  and  even 
extended  Its  power  farther  eastward  over  the  Province  of  Maine ;  and,  by  force 
of  arms.  It  compelled  those  who  had  fled  from  its  persecutions  beyond  its  bound- 
aries Into  the  wilderness  to  submit  to  Its  authority.  It  erected  a  mint  at  Boston, 
impressing  the  year  1652  on  the  coin,  as  the  era  of  independence.  Though,  as 
we  are  assured,  the  coining  of  money  is  the  prerogative  of  the  sovereign,  and  not 
the  privilege  of  a  colony. 

"  The  practice  was  continued  till  the  dissolutlen  of  its  government ;  thus 
evincing  to  cdl  ivhat  had  been  foreseen  by  the  ivlse,  that  a  jjeople  of  such  2)rinciples, 
religious  and  political,  settling  at  so  greed  a  distance  from  control,  would  necessarily 
form  an  independent  State."     Book  I.  c.  viii.  p.  18i. 

"  The  Committee  of  State  of  the  Long  Parliament  having  resolved  to  oblige 
Massachusetts  to  acknowledge  their  authority,  by  taking  a  new  patent  from  them, 
and  by  keeping  its  courts  In  their  name,  that  Colony,  according  to  its  wonted 
policy,  by  petition  and  remonstrance,  declaring  the  love  they  bore  the  Parlia- 
ment, the  sufferings  they  had  endured  in  their  calise,  and  their  readiness  to 
stand  or  fall  with  them,  and  by  flattering  Cromwell,  prevailed  so  fixr  as  that  the 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  331 

English  hierarchy.  To  place  themselves  locally  beyond  the 
reach  of  its  power,  they  resolved  to  emigi-ate.  To  secure  them- 
selves, after  their  emigration,  from  the  arm  of  this  their  ancient 

requisitions  above-mentioned  were  never  complied  with,  and  the  General  Court 
consequently  gained  the  point  in  the  controversy."     Book  I.  c.  viii.  pp.  184,  185. 

"  But  Massachusetts  did  not  only  thus  artfully  foil  the  Parliament,  but  it  out- 
fawned  and  outwitted  Cromwell.  They  declined  his  invitation  to  assist  his  fleet 
and  army,  destined  to  attack  the  Dutch  at  Manhattan,  in  1G53,  and  acknowledg- 
ing the  continued  series  of  his  favors  to  the  Colonies,  told  him,  that,  "  having 
been  exercised  with  serious  thoughts  of  its  duty  at  that  juncture,  tchich  were,  that  it 
tons  most  agreeable  to  the  gospel  of  peace,  and  safest  for  the  plantations  to  forbear 
the  use  of  the  sword,  if  it  had  been  misled,  it  humbly  craved  his  pardon."  Book  I. 
c.  viii.  p.  185. 

"  The  address  of  Massachusetts  above-mentioned,  it  should  seem,  gave  perfect 
satisfaction  to  Cromwell.  Its  winning  courtship  seems  to  have  captivated  his 
rugged  heart,  and,  notwithstanding  a  variety  of  complaints  were  made  to  him 
against  that  Colony,  so  strong  were  his  attachments,  that  all  attempts,  either  to 
obtain  redress,  or  to  prejudice  it  in  his  esteem,  were  to  no  purpose.  Thus  did 
Massachusetts,  by  the  prudence  or  vigor  of  its  councils,  triumph  over  its  oppo- 
nents abroad."     Book  I.  c.  viii.  p.  188. 

"After  the  death  of  Cromwell,  Massachusetts  acted  with  a  cautious  neutrality. 
She  refused  to  acknoidedge  the  authority  of  Richard  anymore  than  that  of  the  Par- 
liament or  Protector,  because  all  submission  would  have  been  incon- 
sistent WITH  HER  independence." 

"  She  heai'd  the  tidings  of  the  restoration  with  that  scrupulous  incredulity,  with 
which  men  listen  to  news  which  they  wish  not  to  be  true."    Book  I.  c.  x.  p.  249. 

"  Prince  Charles  11.  had  received  so  many  proofs  of  the  attachment  of  the 
Colonies,  during  the  season  of  trial,  New  England  only  excepted,  that  he  judged 
rightly,  when  he  presumed  they  would  listen  to  the  news  of  his  restoration  with 
pleasure,  and  submit  to  his  just  authority  with  alacrity.  Nor  was  he  in  the  least 
deceived.  They  proclaimed  his  accession  with  a  joy  in  proportion  to  their  recol- 
lection of  their  late  suffei'ings,  an.d  to  their  hope  of  future  blessings.  Of  the 
recent  conduct  of  Massachusetts,  he  was  well  instructed  ;  he  foresaw  what  re^^lly 
happened,  that  it  would  receive  the  tidings  of  his  good  fortune  with  extreme 
coldness ;  he  was  informed  of  the  proceedings  of  a  society  which  assembled  at 
Cooper's  Hall  in  order  to  promote  its  interests,  and  with  them,  the  good  old  cause 
of  enmity  to  regal  power.  And  in  May,  1661,  he  appointed  the  great  officers  of 
state  a  committee,  '  touching  the  affairs  of  New  England.'  That  Prince  and 
Colony  mutually  hated  and  contemned  and  feared  each  other,  during  his  reign, 
because  the  one  suspected  its  principles  of  attachment,  and  the  other  dreaded  an 
invasion  of  its  privileges."     Book  I.  p.  243. 

"  The  same  vessel  which  brought  Iving  Charles's  proclamation  to  Boston,  in 
1660,  brought  also  "Whalley  and  GofFe,  two  of  the  regicides.  Far  from  conceal- 
ing themselves,  they  were  received  very  courteously  by  Governor  Endicott, 
and  Avith  universal  regard  by  the  people  of  New  England.  Of  this  conduct, 
Charles  11.  was  perfectly  informed,  and  with  it  he  afterwards  reproached  Massa- 
chusetts."    Book  I.  c.  X.  pp.  249,  250. 

"  The  General  Court  soon  turned  its  attention  to  a  subject  of  higher  concern- 
ment, —  the  present  condition  of  affairs.  In  order  rightly  to  iinderstand  that 
dutj^  Avhich  the  people  owed  to  themselves,  and  that  obedience  which  was  due 
to  the  authority  of  England,  a  committee  at  length  reported  a  declaration  of 
rights  and  duties,  which  at  once  shows  the  extent  of  their  claims,  and  their  dex- 
terity at  involving  what  they  wished  to  conceal.  The  General  Court  resolved, 
'  That  the  patent  (under  God)  was  the  first  and  main  foundation  of  the  civil 
polity  of  that  Colony ;  that  the  Governor  and  Company  are,  by  the  patent,  a 


332  MUMCrPAL  HISTOKY. 

oppressor,  they  devised  a  plan,  which,  as  they  thought,  would 
enable  them  to  establish,  under  a  nominal  subjection,  an  actual 
independence.  The  bold  and  original  conception  which  they 
had  the  spirit  to  form  and  successfully  to  execute,  was  the 
attainment  and  perpetuation  of  religious  liberty,  under  the 
auspices  of  a  free  commonwealth.^  This  is  the  master  key 
to  all  their  policy ;  this  the  glorious  spmt  which  breathes  in  all 
then-  institutions.  Whatever  in  them  is  stern,  exclusive,  or  at 
this  day  seems  questionable,  may  be  accounted  for,  if  not  justi- 
fied, by  its  connection  with  this  great  purpose. 

body  politic,  which  is  vested  with  power  to  make  freemen;  that  they  have 
authority  to  choose  a  governor,  deputy-governor,  assistants,  and  select  represent- 
atives ;  that  this  government  hath  ability  to  set  up  all  kinds  of  offices  ;  that  the 
governor,  deputy-governor,  assistants,  and  select  deputies,  have  full  juris- 
diction, both  legislative  and  executive,  for  the  government  of  the  people 
here,  without  appeals,  '  excepting  law  or  laws  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  Eng- 
land ; '  that  this  Company  is  privileged  to  defend  itself  against  all  who  shall 
attempt  its  annoyance  ;  that  any  imposition,  jDrejudicial  to  the  country,  contrary 
to  any  of  its  just  ordinances  (not  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  England)  is  au 
infringement  of  its  rights.'  Having  thus,  with  a  genuine  air  of  sovereignty,  by 
its  own  act,  estabhshed  its  own  privileges,  it  decided  '  concerning  its  duties  and 
allegiance  ; '  and  these  were  declared  to  consist  in  upholding  that  Colony  as  of 
right  belonging  to  his  Majestj",  and  not  subject  to  any  foreign  potentate  ;  in  pre- 
serving his  person  and  dominions ;  in  settling  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the 
king  and  nation,  by  punishing  crimes  and  by  propagating  the  gospel.  It  was  at 
the  same  time  determined,  that  the  royal  warrant  for  apprehending  Whalley  and 
GofFe  ought  to  be  faithfully  executed  ;  that  if  any  legally  obnoxious,  and  fleeing 
from  the  civil  justice  of  the  state  of  England,  shall  come  over  to  these  parts,  they 
may  not  expect  shelter.'  What  a  picture  do  these  resolutions  display  of  the 
embarrassments  of  the  General  Court,  between  its  principles  of  independence  on 
the  one  hand,  and  its  apprehension  of  giving  offence  to  the  state  of  England  on 
the  other."     Book  I.  p.  252. 

"  During  the  whole  reign  of  Charles  11.  Massachusetts  continued  to  act  as  she 
always  had  clone,  as  an  indejyendent  state. 

"  Disregarding  equally  her  charter  and  the  laws  of  England,  Massachusetts 
established  for  herself  an  independent  government,  similar  to  those  of  the  Grecian 
republics."     Book  I.  c.  xvi.  p.  400  ;  also  c.  xxii.  p.  682. 

It  is  not  easy  to  perceive  on  what  ground  Chalmers  supports  the  charge 
against  our  ancestors  of  "  concealment  "  of  their  real  intentions  by  the  General 
Court,  in  their  declaration  of  rights  above  quoted,  from  page  252  of  his  Annals. 
On  the  contrary,  it  seems  to  have  been  conceived  in  a  spirit  of  boldness,  wliich, 
considering  the  weakness  of  the  Colony,  might  be  much  better  denominated 
imprudently  explicit  than  evasive.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  what  the  General 
Court  could  have  added  to  that  declaration  of  their  right  to  independent  self- 
government,  unless  they  had  been  prepared  to  di-aw  the  sword  against  the  King, 
and  throw  away  the  scabbard. 

1  This  is  apparent  from  the  fact,  that  they  did  form  and  maintain  such  a  com- 
momvealth,  and  from  the  further  fact,  that  in  no  other  way  could  they,  in  that 
age,  have  had  any  hope  successfully  to  maintain  and  transmit  to  their  posterity 
religious  liberty,  according  to  their  conception  of  that  blessing.  Those  who  rea- 
son practically  concerning  the  motives  of  mankind,  must  take  their  data  from 
their  master-passions  and  the  necessities  of  their  situation.     Acts  best  develop 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  333 

The  question  has  often  been  raised,  when  and  by  whom  the 
idea  of  independence  of  the  parent  state  was  first  conceived,  and 
by  whose  act  a  settled  purpose  to  effect  it  was  first  indicated. 
History  does  not  permit  the  people  of  Massachusetts  to  make 
a  question  of  this  kind.  The  honor  of  that  thought,  and  of  as 
efficient  a  declaration  of  it  as  in  their  circumstances  was  pos- 
sible, belongs  to  Winthrop,  and  Dudley,  and  Saltonstall,  and 
their  associates,  and  was  included  in  the  declaration,  that  "  the 
only  condition  on  tvJiich  they  with  their  families  would  remove  to 
this  country,  ivas,  that  the  patent  and  charter  should  remove  with 
them."  1 

intentions.  Official  language  takes  its  modification  from  circumstances,  and  is 
often  necessarily  a  very  equivocal  indication  of  motives. 

To  escape  from  the  dominion  of  the  English  hierarchy,  was  our  ancestors  lead- 
ing design  and  firm  purpose.  They  took  refuge  in  the  forms  and  principles  of  a 
commonwealth  ;  trusting  to  their  own  intellectual  skill  and  physical  power  for  its 
support.  They  were  well  apprised  of  the  fixed  determination  of  the  English 
hierarchy,  from  the  earliest  times  of  their  emigration,  to  subject  them  to  its 
supremacy,  if  possible  ;  and  this  design  is  distinctly  avowed  by  Chalmers. 

"  The  enjoyment  of  liberty  of  conscience,  the  free  worship  of  the  Supreme 
Being  in  the  manner  most  agreeable  to  themselves,  were  the  great  objects  of  the 
colonists,  which  they  often  declared  was  the  principal  end  of  their  emigration. 
Nevertheless,  though  their  historians  assert  the  contrary,  the  diarter  did  not 
graiit  spontaneously  to  them  a  freedom,  which  had  been  denied  to  the  solicitations 
of  the  Brownists ;  and  it  is  extremely  probable  that  so  essential  an  omission 
arose,  not  from  accident,  tut  design. 

"  In  conformity  to  his  intentions  of  establishing  the  Church  of  England  in  the 
plantations,  James  had  refused  to  grant  to  that  sect  the  privilege  of  exercising 
its  own  peculiar  modes,  though  solicited  by  the  powerful  interest  of  the  Virginia 
Company.  His  successor  adopted  and  jnirsued'  the  same  policy,  under  the  direction 
of  Laud,  '  loho,  we  are  assured,  kept  a  Jealous  eye  over  Neiv  England.'  And  this 
reasoning  is  confirmed  hy  the  present  jKitent,  tohich  required,  loith  peculiar  caution, 
that '  THE  OATJi  OF  SUPREMACY  shall  1)6  administered  to  every  one,  icho  shall 
pass  to  the  Colony  and  inhabit  there.'"     Book  I.  c.  vi.  p.  141. 

^  The  consentaneousness  of  the  views  entertained  by  Chalmers,  with  those 
presented  in  the  text,  respecting  the  motives  of  our  ancestors  in  making  the 
removal  of  the  charter  the  condition  of  their  emigration,  is  remarkable. 

"  Several  persons  of  considerable  consequence  in  the  nation,  who  had  adopted 
the  principles  of  the  Puritans,  and  who  wished  to  enjoy  their  own  mode  of  wor- 
ship, formed  the  resolution  of  emigrating  to  Massachusetts.  But  they  felt  them- 
seH'Bs  Inferior,  neither  to  the  governor  nor  assistants  of  the  company.  They  sarv 
and  dreaded  the  inconvenience  of  being  governed  by  laws  made  for  them  ivithout 
their  consent ;  and  it  appeared  more  rational  to  them,  that  the  colony  should  be 
ruled  by  those  loho  made  it  the  place  of  their  residence,  than  by  men  dwelling  at 
the  distance  of  three  thousand  miles,  over  ivhom  they  had  no  control.  At  the 
same  time,  therefore,  that  they  proposed  to  transport  themselves,  their  families, 
and  their  estates,  to  that  country,  they  insisted  that  the  charter  should  be  trans- 
mitted with  them,  and  that  the  corporate  powers,  which  were  conferred  by  it, 
should  be  executed,  in  future,  in  New  England." 

"  A  transaction,  similar  to  this,  in  all  its  circumstances,  is  not  to  be  easily  met 
with  in  story."  —  Book  I.  c.  vi.  pp.  150,  151. 

It  is  very  plain,  from  the  above  extract,  that  Chalmers  understood  the  transfer 


334  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

This  simple  declaration  and  resolve  included,  as  they  had  the 
sagacity  to  perceive,  all  the  consequences  of  an  effectual  inde- 
pendence, under  a  nominal  subjection.  For  protection  against 
foreign  powers,  a  charter  from  the  parent  state  was  necessary. 
Its  transfer  to  New  England  vested,  effectually,  independence. 
Those  wise  leaders  foresaw,^  that,  among  the  troubles  in  Europe, 

of  the  chai'ter  to  tills  country  in  the  light  in  which  it  is  represented  in  the  text ; 
■ — that  the  object  was  self-government ;  an  intention  "not  to  be  governed  by- 
laws made  for  them,  without  their  consent ; "  —  a  determination  that  those 
"  should  rule  in  New  England,  who  made  it  the  place  of  their  residence  ; "  and 
"  not  those  ivlio  divelt  at  the  distance  of  three  thousand  miles,  over  ivhom  they  had 
no  control." 

Two  caixses  have  concurred  to  keep  the  motives  of  our  ancestors  in  that  mea- 
sure, from  the  direct  development  which  its  nature  deserves.  The  first  was, 
that  their  motives  could  not  be  avowed  consistently  with  that  nominal  depend- 
ence, which,  in  the  weakness  of  the  early  emigrants,  was  unavoidable.  The 
other  was,  that  almost  all  the  imj^ressions  left  concerning  our  early  histor;^,  have 
been  derived  through  the  medium  of  the  clergy,  who  naturally  gave  an  exclu- 
sive attention  to  the  predominating  motive,  which  was,  unquestionably,  religious 
liberty,  and  paid  less  reg-ard  to  what  the  colonial  statesmen  of  that  day  as 
unquestionably  considered  to  be  the  essential  means  to  that  end.  The  men  who 
said  "  they  would  not  go  to  New  England  unless  the  patent  went  with  them," 
were  not  clergymen,  but  high-minded  statesmen,  who  knew  what  was  included 
in  that  transfer.  Their  conduct  and  that  of  their  immediate  descendants,  speak 
a  language  of  determined  civil  independence,  not,  at  this  day,  to  be  gainsaid. 

Winthrop  gives,  incidentally,  a  remarkable  evidence  of  his  own  sensibility,  on 
the  subject  of  the  right  of  self-government,  -in  the  very  earliest  period  after  their 
emigration. 

"  Mr.  Winslow,  the  late  Governor  of  Plymouth,"  Winthrop  relates,  "  being 
this  year  (1635)  in  England,  petitioned  the  council  for  a  commission  to  with- 
stand the  intrusions  of  the  Dutch  and  French.  Noio  this"  Winthrop  remarks, 
"  ivas  undertaken  tvith  ill  advice  ;  for  such  p)recedents  endanger  our  liberty,  that 

WE  SHOULD  DO  KOTHING  HEREAFTER  BUT  BY  COMMISSION  OUT  OF  EnG- 

liAND." —  Winthrop,  vol.  i.  p.  172. 

1  That  the  early  emigrants  foresaw  that  the  transfer  of  the  charter  would 
effectually  vest  independence,  may  be  deduced,  not  only  from  the  whole  tenor 
of  their  conduct  after  their  emigration,  which  was  an  effectual  exercise  of  inde- 
pendence, but  from  the  fact  of  the  secrecy,  loith  lohich  this  intention  to  transfer 
the  charter  loas  maintained,  until  it  teas  actucdly  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

_  Our  ancestors  readily  anticipated  with  what  jealousy  this  transfer  would  be 
viewed  by  the  English  government ;  and  were  accordingly  solicitous  to  keep  it 
from  being  known  until  they  and  the  original  charter  Avere  beyond  their  power. 
The  original  records  of  the  General  Court,  in  which  the  topic  of  this  transfer 
of  the  charter  was  first  agitated,  speak  a  language  on  this  subject,  not  to  be 
jnistaken. 

The  terms  of  this  record  are  as  follows  :  — 

"  At  a  General  Court  holden  at  London,  for  the  Company  of  the  IMassa- 
chusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  in  Mr.  Deputy's  house,  on  Tuesday,  the  28th  of 
July,  1629.     Present,         Mr.  Mathew  Cradock,   Governor, 
Mr.  GoFF,  JJeputy  Governor" 

Here  follow  the  names  of  the  "assistants"  and  "generahty,"  who  were 
present. 

"  Mr.  Governor  read  certain  propositions  conceived  by  himself,  namely,  that 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  335 

incident  to  the  age,  and  then  obviously  impending  over  their 
parent  state,  their  settlement,  from  its  distance  and  early  insig- 
nificance, would  probably  escape  notice.  They  trusted  to  events, 
and  doubtless  anticipated,  that,  with  its  increasing  strength, 
even  nominal  subjection  would  be  abrogated.  They  knew  that 
weakness  was  the  law  of  nature,  in  the  relation  betweefi  parent 
states  and  their  distant  and  detached  colonies.  Nothing  else 
can  be  inferred,  not  only  from  their  making  the  transfer  of  the 
charter  the  essential  condition  of  their  emigration,  thereby  sever- 
ing themselves  from  all  responsibility  to  persons  abroad,  but  also 
from  their  instant  and  undeviating  com-se  of  policy  after  their 
emigration  ;  in  boldly  assuming  whatever  powers  were  neces- 
sary to  theu'  condition,  or  suitable  to  their  ends,  whether  attri- 
butes of  sovereignty  or  not,  without  regard  to  the  nature  of  the 
consequences  resulting  from  the  exercise  of  those  powers.  Nor 
was  this  assumption  limited  to  powers  which  might  be  deduced 
from  the  charter,  but  was  extended  to  such  as  no  act  of  incorpo- 
ration, like  that  which  they  possessed,  could,  by  any  possibility 
of  legal  construction,  be  deemed  to  include.     By  the  magic  of 

for  tlie  advancement  of  tlie  plantation,  the  inducing  and  encouraging  persons  of 
worth  and  quahty  to  transplant  themselves  and  families  thither,  and  for  other 
weighty  reasons  thei'ein  contained,  to  transfer  the  government  of  tlie  plantation  to 
those  that  shall  inhabit  there,  and  not  to  continue  the  same  in  subordination  to 
the  company  here,  as  now  it  is.  This  business  occasioned  some  debate  ;  but  hy 
reason  of  the  many  great  and  considerable  consequences  tliei^eupon  depending,  it 
was  not  now  resolved  upon,  but  those  present  ^re  privately  and  seriously  to  con'- 
sider  hereof,  and  to  set  down  their  particular  reasons  in  writing,  pro  and  contra, 
and  to  produce  the  same  at  the  next  General  Court,  where  they  being  reduced 
to  heads  and  maturely  considered  of,  the  company  may  then  proceed  to  a  final 
resolution  therein,  and  in  the  mean  time  they  are  desired  to  carry  this 

BUSINESS    secretly,   THAT    THE    SAME   BE  NOT   DIVULGED."  —  See    original 

Records  of  Massachusetts,  p.  19. 

What  our  ancestors  thought  they  had  gained,  or  what  practical  consequences 
they  intended  to  deduce  from  this  transfer  of  the  patent,  and  from  their  posses- 
sion of  it  in  this  country,  is  apparent  from  the  reasons,  given  by  Winthrop,  for 
not  obeying  the  court  mandate,  to  send  the  patent  to  England. 

Winthrop's  account  is  as  follows :  — 

"The  General  Court  was  assembled,  [1638,]  in  which  it  w^s  agreed,  that 
whereas  a  very  strict  order  was  sent  from  the  Lords  Commissioners  for  Planta- 
tions, for  sending  home  our  patent,  upon  pretence  that  judgment  had  passed 
against  it  upon  a  quo  loarranto,  a  letter  should  be  written  by  the  Governor  in 
the  name  of  the  Court,  to  excuse  our  not  sending  it ;  for  it  was  resolved  to  be 
best,  not  to  send  it,  because  then  such  of  our  friends  and  others  in  England 
would  conceive  it  to  be  surrendered,  and  that  thereupon,  we  should  be  bound  to 
receive  such  a  Governor  and  such  orders,  as  should  he  sent  to  us,  and  many  bad 
minds,  yea,  and  some  iveah  ones,  among  ourselves,  would  think  it  lawful,  if 
NOT    necessary,   TO    ACCEPT   A   GENERAL    GOVERNOR." —  Winthrop,   vol.   i. 

p.  269. 


336  MUNICIPAL  HISTOEY. 

their  daring,  a  private  act  of  incorporation  was  transmuted  into 
a  civil  constitution  of  state ;  under  the  authority  of  which  they 
made  peace  and  declared  war ;  erected  judicatures ;  coined 
money ;  raised  armies ;  built  fleets ;  laid  taxes  and  imposts ; 
inflicted  fines,  penalties,  and  death ;  and,  in  imitation  of  the 
British  «'constitution,  by  the  consent  of  all  its  own  branches, 
without  asking  leave  of  any  other,  their  legislature  modified  its 
own  powers  and  relations,  prescribed  the  qualifications  of  those 
who  should  conduct  its  authority,  and  enjoy,  or  be  excluded  from 
its  privileges.  The  administration  of  the  civil  affairs  of  Massa- 
chusetts, for  the  sixty  years  next  succeeding  the  settlement  of 
this  metropolis,  was  a  phenomenon  in  the  history  of  civil  govern- 
ment. Under  a  theoretic  colonial  relation,  an  efficient  and 
independent  Commonwealth  was  erected,  claiming  and  exer- 
cising attributes  of  sovereignty,  higher  and  far  more  extensive 
than,  at  the  present  day,  in  consequence  of  its  connection  with 
the  general  government,  Massachusetts  pretends  either  to  exer- 
cise or  possess.  "Well  might  Chalmers  assert,  as  in  his  Political 
Annals  of  the  Colonies  he  does,  that  "  Massachusetts,  with  a 
peculiar  dexterity,  abolished  her  charter ; "  ^  that  she  was  always 
"  fruitful  in  projects  of  independence,  the  principles  of  which,  at 
all  times,  governed  her  actions."  ^  In  this  point  of  view,  it  is 
glory  enough  for  our  early  ancestors,  that,  under  manifold  dis- 
advantages, in  the  midst  of  internal  discontent  and  external 
violence  and  intrigue,  of  wars  with  the  savages  and  with  the 
neighboring  colonies  of  France,  they  effected  their  purpose,  and 
for  two  generations  of  men,  from  1630  to  1692,  enjoyed  liberty 
of  conscience,  according  to  their  view  of  that  subject,  under  the 
auspices  of  a  free  commonwealth. 

The  three  objects,  which'  om'  ancestors  proposed  to  attain 
and  perpetuate  by  all  their  institutions,  were  the  noblest  within 
the  grasp  of  the  human  mind,  and  those  on  which,  more  than 
on  any  other,  depend  human  happiness  and  hope ;  —  religious 
liberty,  — civil  libe^'ty,  —  and,  as  essential  to  the  attainment  and 
maintenance  of  both,  —  intellectual  power. 

On  the  subject  of  religious  liberty,  their  intolerance  of  other 
sects  has  been  reprobated  as  an  inconsistency,  and  as  violating 
the  very  rights  of  conscience  for  which  they  emigrated.     The 

1  Vol.  i.  p.  200.     '  2  Vol.  i.  pp.  158,  177. 


CITY  GOVERmiENT.  337 

inconsistency,  if  it  exist,  is  altogether  constructive,  and  the 
charge  proceeds  on  a  false  assumption.  The  necessity  of  the 
policy ,1  considered  in  connection  with  their  great  design  of 
independence,  is  apparent.  They  had  abandoned  house  and 
home,  had  sacrificed  the  comforts  of  kindred  and  cultivated  life, 
had  dared  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  and  were  then  braving  the  still 
more  appalling  terrors  of  the  wilderness  ;  for  what? — to  acquire 
liberty  for  all  sorts  of  consciences  ?  Not  so ;  but  to  vindicate 
and  maintain  the  liberty  of  their  own  consciences.  They  did 
not  cross  the  Atlantic,  on  a  crusade,  in  behalf  of  the  rights  of 

1  The  object  of  this  policy  was  perceived  by  Chalmers.  Thus  he  reprobates 
the  law,  that  "  none  should  be  admitted  to  the  freedom  of  the  company  but  such 
as  were  church  members,  and  that  none  but  freemen  should  vote  at  elections  or 
act  as  magistrates  and  jurymen,"  because  it  excluded  from  aUparticijyation  in  the 
government^  those  who  could  not  comply  with  the  necessary  requisites.  He 
understood  well,  that  it  was  a  means  of  defence  against  the  Enghsh  hierarchy, 
and  intended  to  exclude  from  influence  all  who  were  of  the  EngUsh  church ; 
and  complains  of  it  as  being  "  made  in  the  true  spirit  of  retaliation"  (Book  I. 
p.  153,)  and  adds,  that  "this  severe  law,  notwithstanding  the  vigorous  exertions 
of  Charles  11.,  continued  in  force  till  the  quo  warranto  laid  in  ruins  the  structure 
of  the  government  that  had  estabUshed  it." 

To  prove  the  necessity  of  this  exclusive  policy  of  our  ancestors,  and  that  it  was 
strictly  a  measure  of  "  self-defence,"  it  is  proper  to  remark,  that  as  early  as  April, 
1635,  a  commission  was  issued  for  the  government  of  the  Plantations,  granting 
absolute  poiver  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  to  others,  "  to  make  laws 

AND  CONSTITUTIONS,  CONCERNING  EITHER  THEIK  STATE  PUBLIC  OR  THE 
UTILITY  OF  INDIVIDUALS,  AND  FOR  THE  RELIEF  OF  THE  CLERGY  TO  CONSIGN 
CONVENIENT  MAINTENANCE  UNTO  THEM  BY  TITHES  AND  OBLATIONS  AND 
OTHER  PROFITS  ACCORDING  TO  THEIR  DISCRETION,"  AND  THEY  WERE  EM- 
POWERED TO  INFLICT  PUNISHMENTS,  EITHER  BY  IMPRISONMENT  OR  BY  LOS^ 
OF  LIFE  AND  MEMBERS. 

A  broader  charter  of  hierarchical  despotism  was  never  conceived.  The  only 
means  of  protection  against  it,  to  which  our  ancestors  could  resort,  was  that 
which  they  adopted.  By  the  principle  of  making  church-membership  a  qualifi- 
cation for  the  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  a  freeman,  they  excluded  from  all  poli- 
tical influence  the  friends  of  the  hierarchy.  To  the  same  motive  may  be  referred 
that  other  principle,  that  "no  churches  should  be  gathered  but  such  as  were 
approved  by  the  magistrate."  Notwithstanding  that  the  direct  tendency  of  these 
principles  was  to  destroy  the  influence  of  the  crown  and  the  hierarchy  in  the 
colony,  the  obviousness  of  the  motive  is  unnoticed  by  Chalmers,  for  the  sake  of 
repeating  the  gross  charge  of  bigotry ;  and  this  too  at  the  very  time  when  he  is 
urg-fng  their  design  of  independence  against  our  ancestors  as  their  great  crime. 
Our  ancestors  could  not  avow  theu"  ruling  motive  ;  and  they  seem  at  all  times  to 
be  actuated  by  the  noble  principle  of  being  content  to  submit  in  their  own  cha- 
racters to  the  obloquy  of  bigotry,  as  a  less  evil  than  that  their  childi-en  should 
become  subject  to  the  hierarchy  of  the  Stuarts. 

It  is  difficult  to  perceive  how  the  principles  of  this  commission  could  have 
been  otherwise  resisted  by  our  ancestors,  than  by  putting  at  once  out  of  influ- 
ence all  those  disposed  to  yield  submission  to  it.  Nor  was  it  possible  for  them  to 
apply  their  disqualification  directly  to  the  adherents  of  the  English  hierarchy. 
They  were  compelled,  if  it  were  adopted  at  aU,  to  make  it  general,  and  to 
acquiesce  in  the  charge  of  bigotry  in  order  to  give  efiicacy  to  their  policy. 
29 


338  MUNICIPAL  HISTOKY. 

mankind  in  general,  but  in  support  of  their  own  rights  and  liber- 
ties. Tolerate  I  Tolerate  whom  ?  The  legate  of  the  Eoman 
Pontiff,  or  the  emissary  of  Charles  I.  and  Archbishop  Laud? 
How  consummate  would  have  been  their  folly  and  madness, 
to  have  fled  into  the  wilderness  to  escape  the  horrible  persecu- 
tions of  those  hierarchies,  and  at  once  have  admitted  into  the 
bosom  of  their  society,  men  brandishing,  and  ready  to  apply,  the 
very  flames  and  fetters  from  which  they  had  fled !  Those  who 
are  disposed  to  condemn  them  on  this  account,  neither  realize 
the  necessities  of  their'  condition,  nor  the  prevailing  character 
of  the  times.  Under  the  stern  discipline  of  Elizabeth  and  James, 
the  stupid  bigotry  of  the  First  Charles,  and  the  spiritual  pride 
of  Archbishop  Laud,  the  spmt  of  the  English  hierarchy  was 
very  different  from  that  which  it  assumed,  when,  after  having 
been  tamed  and  humanized  under  the  wholesome  discipline  of 
Cromwell  and  his  Commonwealth,  it  yielded  itself  to  the  mild 
influence  of  the  principles  of  1688,  and  to  the  liberal  spirit  of 
Tillotson. 

But  it  is  said,  if  they  did  not  tolerate  their  ancient  persecutors, 
they  might,  at  least,  have  tolerated  rival  sects.  That  is,  they 
ought  to  have  tolerated  sects,  imbued  with  the  same  principles 
of  intolerance  as  the  transatlantic  hierarchies ;  sects,  whose  first 
use  of  power  would  have  been  to  endeavor  to  uproot  the  liberty 
of  our  fathers,  and  persecute  them,  according  to  the  known 
principles  of  sectarian  action,  with  a  virulence  in  the  inverse 
ratio  of  their  reciprocal  likeness  and  proximity.  Those,  who 
thus  reason  and  thus  condemn,  have  considered  but  very  super- 
ficially the  nature  of  the  human  mind  and  its  actual  condition 
in  the  time  of  our  ancestors. 

The  great  doctrine,  now  so  universally  recognized,  that  liberty 
of  conscience  is  the  right  of  the  individual,  —  a  concern  between 
every  man  and  his  Maker,  with  which  the  civil  magistrate  is  not 
authorized  to  interfere,  —  was  scarcely,  in  their  day,  known, 
except  in  private  theory  and  solitary  speculation ;  as  a  practical 
truth,  to  be  acted  upon  by  the  civil  power,  it  was  absolutely  and 
universally  rejected  by  all  men,  all  parties,  and  all  sects,  as 
totally  subversive,  not  only  of  the  peace  of  the  church,  but  of 
the  peace  of  society.^     That  great  truth,  now  deemed  so  simple 

1  Hume's  History  of  England,  vol.  vi'.  p.  168. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT,  339 

and  plain,  was  so  far  from  being  an  easy  discovery  of  the  human 
intellect,  that  it  may  be  doubted  whether  it  would  ever  have 
been  discovered  by  human  reason  at  all,  had  it  not  been  for  the 
miseries  in  which  man  was  involved  in  consequence  of  his  igno- 
rance of  it.  That  truth  was  not  evolved  by  the  calm  exertion 
of  the  human  faculties,  but  was  stricken  out  by  the  collision  of 
the  human  passions.  It  was  not  the  result  of  philosophic  re- 
search, but  was  a  hard  lesson,  taught  under  the  lash  of  a  severe 
discipline,  provided  for  the  gradual  instruction  of  a  being  like 
man,  not  easily  brought  into  subjection  to  virtue,  and  with 
natural  propensities  to  pride,  ambition,  avarice,  and  selfishness. 
Previously  to  that  time,  in  all  modifications  of  society,  ancient 
or  modern,  religion  had  been  seen  only  in  close  connection  with 
the  state.  It  was  the  universal  instrument  by  which  worldly 
ambition  shaped  and  moulded  the  multitude  to  its  ends.  To 
have  attempted  the  establishment  of  a  state  on  the  basis  of  a 
perfect  freedom  of  religious  opinion,  and  the  perfect  right  of 
every  man  to  express  his  opinion,  would  then  have  been  consi- 
dered as  much  a  solecism,  and  an  experiment  quite  as  wild  and 
visionary,  as  it  would  be,  at  this  day,  to  attempt  the  establish- 
ment of  a  state  on  the  principle  of  a  perfect  liberty  of  individual 
action,  and  the  perfect  right  of  every  man  to  conduct  himself 
according  to  his  private  will.  Had  our  early  ancestors  adopted 
the  course  we,  at  this  day,  are  apt  to  deem  so  easy  and  obvious, 
and  placed  their  government  on  the  basis  of  liberty  for  all  sorts 
of  consciences,  it  would  have  been,  in  that  age,  a  certain  intro- 
duction of  anarchy.  It  cannot  be  questioned,  that  all  the  fond 
hopes  they  had  cherished  from  emigration  would  have  been  lost. 
The  agents  of  Charles  and  James  would  have  planted  here  the 
standard  of  the  transatlantic  monarchy  and  hierarchy.  Divided 
and  broken,  without  practical  energy,  subject  to  court  influences 
and  court  favorites.  New  England  at  this  day  would  have  been 
a- colony  of  the  parent  state,i  her  character  yet  to  be  formed  and 
her  independence  yet  to  be  vindicated. 

1  Lest  tbe  consequences  of  an  opposite  policy,  had  it  been  adopted  by  our 
ancestors,  may  seem  to  be  exaggerated,  as  here  represented,  it  is  proper  to  state, 
that  upon  the  strength  and  united  spirit  of  New  England  mainly  depended 
(under  Heaven)  the  success  of  our  revolutionary  straggle.  Had  New  England 
been  divided,  or  even  less  unanimous,  independence  would  have  scarcely  been 
attempted,  or,  if  attempted,  acquired.     It  will  give  additional  strength  to  this 


340  MUOTCIPAL  mSTOKY. 

The  non-toleration,  which  characterized  our  early  ancestors, 
from  whatever  source  it  may  have  originated,  had  undoubtedly 
the  effect  they  intended  and  ivished.  It  excluded  from  influence 
in  their  infant  settlement  all  the  friends  and  adherents  of  the 
ancient  monarchy  and  hierarchy;  all  who,  from  any  motive, 
ecclesiastical  or  civil,  were  disposed  to  disturb  their  peace  or 
their  churches.  They  considered  it  a  measure  of  "  self-defence." 
And  it  is  unquestionable,  that  it  was  chiefly  instrumental  in 
forming  the  homogeneous  and  exclusively  republican  character 
for  which  the  people  of  New  England  have,  in  all  times,  been 
distinguished;  and,  above  all,  that  it  fixed  irrevocably  in  the 
country  that  noble  security  for  religious  liberty,  the  independent 
system  of  church  government. 

The  principle  of  the  independence  of  the  churches,  including 
the  right  of  every  individual  to  unite  with  what  church  he 
pleases,  under  whatever  sectarian  auspices  it  may  have  been 
fostered,  has,  through  the  influence  of  time  and  experience,  lost 
altogether  its  exclusive  character.  It  has  become  the  universal 
guaranty  of  religious  liberty  to  all  sects  without  discrimination, 
and  is  as  much  the  protector  of  the  Roman  Catholic,  the  Epis- 
copalian, and  the  Presbyterian,  as  of  the  Independent  form  of 
worship.  The  security,  which  results  from  this  principle,  does 
not  depend  upon  charters  and  constitutions,  but  on  what  is 
stronger  than  either,  the  nature  of  the  principle  in  connection 
with  the  nature  of  man.  So  long  as  this  intellectual,  moral, 
and  religious  being,  man,  is  constituted  as  he  is,  the  unrestricted 
liberty  of  associating  for  public  worship,  and  the  independence 
of  those  associations  of  external  control,  wUl  necessarily  lead  to 
a  most  happy  number  and  variety  of  them.  In  the  principle  of 
the  independence  of  each,  the  liberty  of  individual  conscience 
is  safe  under  the  panoply  of  the  common  interest  of  all.  No 
other  perfect  security  for  liberty  of  conscience  was  ever  devised 
by  man,  except  this  independence  of  the  churches.  This  pos- 
sessed, liberty  of  conscience  has  no  danger.     This  denied,  it  has 


argument  to  observe,  that  the  number  oF  troops,  regular  and  militia,  furnished  by- 
all  the  States  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  was     .  .  .     288,134 
Of  these.  New  England  furnished  more  than  half,  namely,        .     147,674 
And  Massachusetts  alone  furnished  nearly  one  third,  namely,   .       83,162 
See  the  Collections  of  the  New  Hampshire  Historical  Society,  vol.  i.  p.  236. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  341 

no  safety.  There  can  be  no  greater  human  security  than  com- 
mon right,  placed  under  the  protection  of  common  interest. 

It  is  the  excellence  and  beauty  of  this  simple  principle,  that, 
while  it  secures  all,  it  restricts  none.  They,  who  delight  in  lofty 
and  splendid  monuments  of  ecclesiastical  architecture,  may  raise 
the  pyramid  of  church  power,  with  its  aspiring  steps  and  grada- 
tions, until  it  terminate  in  the  despotism  of  one,  or  a  few ;  the 
humble  dwellers  at  the  base  of  the  proud  edifice  may  wonder, 
and  admire  the  ingenuity  of  the  contrivance  and  the  splendor  of 
its  massive  dimensions,  but  it  is  without  envy  and  without  fear. 
Safe  in  the  principle  of  independence,  they  worship,  be  it  in 
tent,  or  tabernacle,  or  in  the  open  air,  as  securely  as  though 
standing  on  the  topmost  pinnacle  of  the  loftiest  fabric  ambition 
ever  devised. 

The  glory  of  discovering  and  putting  this  principle  to  the  test, 
on  a  scale  capable  of  trying  its  efficacy,  belongs  to  the  fathers 
of  Massachusetts,^  who  are  entitled  to  a  full  share  of  that  acknow- 
ledgment made  by  Hume,  w^hen  he  asserts,  "that  for  all  the 
liberty  of  the  English  constitution  that  nation  is  indebted  to  the 
Puritans." 

The  glory  of  our  ancestors  radiates  from  no  point  more 
strongly  than  from  their  institutions  of  learning.  The  people 
of  New  England  are  the  first  known  to  history,  who  provided, 
in  the  original  constitution  of  their  society,  for  the  education  of 
the  whole  population  out  of  the  general  fund.  In  other  coun- 
tries, provisions  have  been  made  of  this  character  in  favor  of 
certain  particular  classes,  or  for  the  poor  by  way  of  charity.  But 
here  first  were  the  children  of  the  whole  community  invested 
with  the  right  of  being  educated  at  the  expense  of  the  whole 
society ;  and  not  only  this,  the  obligation  to  take  advantage 
of  that  right  was  enforced  by  severe  supervision  and  penalties. 
By  simple  laws  they  founded  their  commonwealth  on  the  only 
basis  on  which  a  republic  has  any  hope  of  happiness  or  continu- 
ance, the  general  information  of  the  people.  They  denominated 
it  " barbarism "  not  to  be  able  "perfectly  to  read  the  English 
tongue  and  to  know  the  general  laws."  ^  In  soliciting  a  gene- 
ral contribution  for  the  support  of  the  neighboring  University, 
they  declare  that  "  skill  in  the  tongues  and  liberal  arts,  is  not 

^  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans^  vol.  i.  p.  438  and  490. 
2  Old  Colony  Laws,  p.  26. 

29* 


342  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

only  laudable,  but  necessary  for  the  ivell-heing  of  the  common- 
wealth." i  And  in  requiring  every  town,  having  one  hundred 
householders,  to  set  up  a  grammar  school,  provided  with  a 
master  able  to  fit  youth  for  the  University,  the  object  avowed  is, 
"  to  enable  men  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  and  by 
acquaintance  with  the  ancient  tongues  to  qualify  them  to  dis- 
cern the  true  sense  and  meaning  of  the  original,  however  cor- 
rupted by  false  glosses."  Thus  liberal  and  thus  elevated,  in 
respect  of  learning,  were  the  views  of  our  ancestors." 

To  the  same  master-passion,  dread  of  the  English  hierarchy, 
and  the  same  main  purpose,  civil  independence,  may  be  attri- 
buted, in  a  great  degree,  the  nature  of  the  government  which 
the  principal  civil  and  spiritual  influences  of  the  time  established, 
and,  notwithstanding  its  many  objectionable  features,  the  willing 
■submission  to  it  of  the  people. 

It  cannot  be  questioned,  that  the  constitution  of  Jhe  state,  as 
sketched  in  the  first  laws  of  our  ancestors,  was  a  skilful  combi- 
nation of  both  civU  and  ecclesiastical  powers.  Church  and 
state  were  very  curiously  and  efficiently  interwoven  with  each 
other.  It  is  usual  to  attribute  to  rehgious  bigotry  the  submis- 
sion of  the  mass  of  the  people  to  a  system  thus  stern  and  exclu- 
sive. It  may,  however,  with  quite  as  much  justice,  be  resolved 
into  love  of  independence  and  political  sagacity. 

The  great  body  of  the  first  emigrants  doubtless  coincided  in 
general  religious  views  with  those  whose  influence  predominated 
in  their  church  and  state.  They  had,  consequently,  no  personal 
objection  to  the  stern  discipline  their  political  system  established. 
They  had  also  the  sagacity  to  foresee  that  a  system,  which  by 
its  rigor  should  exclude  from  power  all  who  did  not  concur  with 
their  religious  views,  would  have  a  direct  tendency  to  deter 
those  in  other  countries  from  emigrating  to  their  settlement, 
who  did  not  agree  with  the  general  plan  of  policy  they  had 
adopted,  and  of  consequence  to  increase  the  probability  of  their 
escape  from  the  interference  of  their  ancient  oppressors,  and  the 
chance  of  success  in  laying  the  foundation  of  the  free  common- 
wealth they  contemplated.  They  also  doubtless  perceived,  that, 
with  the  unqualified  possession  of  the  elective  franchise,  they 
had  little  reason  to  apprehend  that  they  could  not  easily  control 


1  Records  of  the  Colony,  p.  117  ;  19th  Oct.  1652. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  343 

or  annihilate  any  ill  effect  upon  their  political  system,  arising 
from  the  union  of  church  and  state,  should  it  become  insup- 
portable. 

There  is  abundant  evidence,  that  the  submission  of  the  people 
to  this  new  form  of  church  and  state  combination  was  not  owing 
to  ignorance,  or  to  indifference  to  the  true  principles  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty.  Notwithstanding  the  strong  attachment  of  the 
early  emigrants  to  their  civil,  and  their  almost  blind  devotion  to 
their  ecclesiastical  leaders,  when,  presuming  on  their  influence, 
either  attempted  any  thing  inconsistent  with  general  liberty,  a 
corrective  is  seen  almost  immediately  applied  by  the  spuit  and 
intelligence  of  the  people. 

In  this  respect,  the  character  of  the  people  of  Boston  has  been 
at  all  times  distinguished.  In  every  period  of  our  history,  they 
have  been  second  to  none  in  quickness  to  discern  or  in  readiness 
to  meet  every  exigency,  fearlessly  hazarding  life  and  fortune  in 
support  of  the  liberties  of  the  commonwealth.  It  would  be  easy 
to  maintain  these  positions  by  a  recurrence  to  the  annals  of  each 
successive  age,  and  particularly  to  facts  connected  with  our  revo- 
lutionary struggle.  A  few  instances  only  will  be  noticed,  and 
those  selected  from  the  earliest  times. 

A  natural  jealousy  soon  sprung  up  in  the  metropolis  as  to  the 
intentions  of  their  civil  and  ecclesiastical  leaders.^  In  1634  the 
people  began  to  fear,  lest,  by  reelecting  Winthrop,  they  "  should 
make  way  for  a  Governor  for  life."  They  accordingly  gavjs 
some  indications  of  a  design  to  elect  another  person.  Upon 
which  John  Cotton,  their  great  ecclesiastical  head,  then  at  the 
height  of  his  popularity,  preached  a  discourse  to  the  General 
Court,  and  delivered  this  doctrine,  —  "that  a  magistrate  ought 
not  to  be  turned  out,  without  just  cause,  no  more  than  a  magis- 
trate might  turn  out  a  private  man  from  his  freehold,  without 
trial."  2  To  show  then*  dislike  of  the  doctrine  by  the  most  prac- 
tical of  evidences,  our  ancestors  gave  the  political  divine  and  his 
adherents  a  succession  of  lessons,  for  which  they  were  probably 
the  wiser  all  the  rest  of  their  lives.  They  turned  out  Winthrop 
at  the  very  same  election,  and  put  in  Dudley.  The  year  after, 
they  turned  out  Dudley  and  put  in  Haynes.  The  year  after, 
they  turned  out  Haynes,  and  put  in  Vane.     So  much  for  the 

1  Winthrop,  vol.  i.  p.  299.  2  jbld.  vol.  i.  p.  132. 


344  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

first  broaching,  in  Boston,  of  the  doctrine,  that  public  ofHce  is 
of  the  nature  of  freehold. 

In  1635,  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  General  Court,  to  elect 
a  certain  number  of  magistrates  as  counsellors  for  life?-  Al- 
though Cotton  was  the  author  also  of  this  project,  and  notwith- 
standing his  influence,  yet  such  was  the  spirit  displayed  by  our 
ancestors  on  the  occasion,  that  within  three  years  the  General 
Court  2  was  compelled  to  pass  a  vote,  denying  any  such  intent, 
and  declaring  that  the  persons  so  chosen  should  not  be  accounted 
magistrates,  or  have  any  authority  in  consequence  of  such  elec- 
tion. 

In  1636,  the  great  Antinomian  controversy  divided  the  country. 
Boston  was  for  the  covenant  of  grace ;  the  General  Court,  for 
the  covenant  of  works.  Under  pretence  of  the  apprehension  of 
a  riot,  the  General  Court  adj omened  to  Newtown,  and  expelled 
the  Boston  deputies  for  daring  to  remonstrate.  Boston,  indig- 
nant at  this  infringement  of  its  liberties,  was  about  electing  the 
same  deputies  a  second  time.  At  the  "  earnest  solicitation  of 
Cotton,  however,  they  chose  others.  One  of  these  was  also 
expelled  by  the  Court;  and  a  writ  having  been  issued  to  the 
town  ordering  a  new  election,  they  refused  making  any  return 
to  the  warrant,  —  a  contempt  which  the  General  Court  did  not 
think  it  wise  to  resent. 

In  1639,  there  being  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Assistants,  the 
Governor  and  magistrates  met  and  nominated  three  persons, 
"  not  with  intent,"  as  they  said,  "  to  lead  the  people's  choice  of 
these,  nor  to  divert  them  from  any  other,  but  only  to  propound 
for  consideration  (which  any  freeman  may  do)  and  so  leave  the 
people  to  use  their  liberties  according  to  their  consciences." 
The  result  was,  that  the  people  did  use  their  liberties  according 
to  their  consciences.  They  chose  not  a  man  of  them.^  So 
much  for  the  first  legislative  caucus  in  om-  history.  It  probably 
would  have  been  happy  for  their  posterity,  if  the  people  had 
always  treated  like  nominations  with  as  little  ceremony. 

About  this  time,  also,  the  General  Com-t  took  exception  at 
the  length  of  the  "  lectures^''  then  the  great  delight  of  the  people, 
and  at  the  ill  effects  resulting  from  their  frequency ;  whereby 
poor  people  were  led  greatly  to  neglect  their  affau-s,  to  the  great 

1  Mil.  p.  186.  2  lUd.  p.  302.  3  Ihkl  vol.  ii.  p.  343. 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  345 

hazard  also  of  their  health,  owing  to  their  long  continuance  in 
the  night.  Boston  expressed  strong  dislike  i  at  this  interference, 
*'  fearing  that  the  precedent  might  inthral  them  to  the  civil 
power,  and,  besides,  be  a  blemish  upon  them  with  their  posterity, 
as  though  they  needed  to  be  regulated  by  the  civil  magistrate, 
and  raise  an  ill-savor  of  their  coldness,  as  if  it  were  possible  for 
the  people  of  Boston  to  complain  of  too  much  preaching." 

The  magistrates,  fearful  lest  the  people  should  break  their 
bonds,  were  content  to  apologize,  to  abandon  the  scheme  of 
shortening  lectures  or  diminishing  their  number,  and  to  rest  satis- 
fied with  a  general  understanding,  that  assemblies  should  break 
up  in  such  season,  as  that  people,  dwelling  a  mile  or  two  off, 
might  get  home  by  daylight.  Winthrop,  on  this  occasion, 
passes  the  following  eulogium  on  the  people  of  Boston,  which 
every  period  of  theu'  history  amply  confirms  :  "  They  were  gene- 
rally of  that  understanding  and  moderation,  as  that  they  would 
be  easily  guided  in  their  way  by  any  rule  from  Scripture  or 
sound  reason." 

It  is  curious  and  instructive  to  trace  the  principles  of  our  con- 
stitution as  they  were  successively  suggested  by  circumstances, 
and  gradually  gained  by  the  intelligence  and  daring  spirit  of  the 
people.  For  the  first  fom*  years  after  thek  emigration,  the  free- 
men, like  other  corporations,  met  and  transacted  business  in  a 
body.  At  this  time  the  people  attained  a  representation  under 
the  name  of  deputies,  who  sat  in  the. same  room  with  the  magis- 
trates, to  whose  negative  all  their  proceedings  were  subjected. 
Next  arose  the  struggle  about  the  negative,  which  lasted  for  ten 
years,  and  eventuated  in  the  separation  of  the  General  Court 
into  two  branches,  with  each  a  negative  on  the  other.^  Then 
came  the  jealousy  of  the  deputies  concerning  the  magistrates,^ 
as  proceeding  too  much  by  their  discretion  for  want  of  positive 
laws,  and  the  demand  by  the  deputies,  that  persons  should  be 
appointed  to  frame  a  body  of  fundamental  laws  in  resemblance 
of  the  English  Magna  Charta. 

After  this  occurred  the  controversy  *  relative  to  the  powers  of 
the  magistrates,  dm-ing  the  recess  of  the  General  Court;  con- 
cerning which,  when  the  deputies  found  that  no  compromise 
could  be  made,  and  the  magistrates  declared  that,  "  if  occasion 

1  Winthrop,  vol.  I.  p.  325.  3  2iid.  p.  322. 

2  Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  160.  4  jj^ia,  vol.  ii.  p.  169. 


346  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

required,  they  should  act  according  to  the  power  and  trust  com- 
mitted to  them,"  the  Speaker  of  the  House  in  his  place  replied,  — 
"  Then,  gentlemen,  you  will  not  be  obeyed." 

In  every  period  of  our  early  history,  the  friends  of  the  ancient 
hierarchy  and  monarchy  were  assiduous  in  their  endeavors  to 
introduce  a  form  of  government  on  the  principle  of  an  efficient 
colonial  relation.  Our  ancestors  were  no  less  vigilant  to  avail 
themselves  of  their  local  situation  and  of  the  difficulties  of  the 
parent  state  to  defeat  those  attempts  ;  or,  in  their  language,  "to 
avoid  and  protract."  They  lived,  however,  under  a  perpetual 
apprehension,  that  a  royal  governor  would  be  imposed  upon 
them  by  the  law  of  force.  Their  resolution  never  faltered  on  the 
point  of  resistance  to  the  extent  of  their  power.  Notwithstand- 
ing Boston  would  have  been  the  scene  of  the  struggle  and  the 
first  victim  to  it,  yet  its  inhabitants  never  shrunk  from  their 
duty  through  fear  of  danger,  and  were  always  among  the  fore- 
most to  prepare  for  every  exigency.  Castle  Island  was  fortified 
chiefly,  and  the  battery  at  the  north  end  of  the  town,  and  that 
called  the  "  Sconce,"  wholly  by  the  voluntary  contributions  of  its 
inhabitants.  After  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  their  instruc-, 
tions  to  then-  representatives  in  the  General  Court  breathe  one 
uniform  spirit,  —  "  not  to  recede  from  then'  just  rights  and  privi- 
leges as  secured  by  the  patent."  When,  in  1662,  the  King's 
Commissioners  came  to  Boston,  the  inhabitants,  to  show  their 
spirit  in  support  of  their  own  laws,  took  measures  to  have  them 
aU  aiTested  for  a  breach  of  the  Saturday  evening  law,  and  actu- 
ally brought  them  before  the  magistrate  for  riotous  and  abusive 
carriage.  When  Randolph,  in  1684,  came  with  his  quo  warranto 
against  their  charter,  on  the  question  being  taken  in  town  meet- 
ing, "  whether  the  freemen  were  minded  that  the  General  Court 
should  make  full  submission  and  entke  resignation  of  their 
charter,  and  of  the  privileges  therein  granted,  to  his  Majesty's 
pleasure,"  Boston  resolved  in  the  negative^  loithout  a  dissentient. 

In  1689,  the  tyranny  of  Andros,  the  Governor  appointed  by 
James  II.,  having  become  insupportable  to  the  whole  country, 
Boston  rose,  like  one  man ;  took  the  battery  on  Fort  Hill  by 
assault  in  open  day  ;  made  prisoners  of  the  King's  Governor  and 
the  Captain  of  the  King's  frigate,  then  lying  in  the  harbor ;  and 
restored,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  country,  the  authority  of 
the  old  charter  leaders. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  347 

By  accepting  the  charter  of  William  and  Mary,  in  1692,  the 
people  of  Massachusetts  first  yielded  their  claims  of  independ- 
ence to  the  Crown.  It  is  only  requisite  to  read  the  official 
account  of  the  agents  of  the  colony,  to  perceive  both  the  resist- 
ance they  made  to  that  charter,  and  the  necessity  which  com- 
pelled their  acceptance  of  it.^  Those  agents  were  told  by  the 
King's  ministers,  that  they  "  must  take  that  or  none ; "  that 
"  their  consent  to  it  was  not  asked  ;  "  that  if  "  they  would  not 
submit  to  the  King's  pleasure  they  must  take  what  would  fol- 
low." "  The  opinion  of  our  lawyers,"  say  the  agents,  "  was, 
that  a  passive  submission  to  the  new  was  not  a  surrender  of  the 
old  charter  ;  and  that  their  taking  up  with  this  did  not  make  the 
people  of  Massachusetts,  in  law,  uncapable  of  obtaining  all  their 
old  privileges,  ivhenever  a  favorable  opjportwnity  should  present 
itselfy  In  the  year  1776,  nearly  a  century  afterwards,  that 
"  favorable  opportunity  did  present  itself,"  and  the  people  of 
Massachusetts,  in  conformity  with  the  opinion  of  their  learned 
counsel  and  faithful  agents,  did  vindicate  and  obtain  aU  their 
"  old  privileges  "  of  self-government. 

Under  the  new  colonial  government,  thus  authoritatively 
imposed  upon  them,  arose  new  parties  and  new  struggles, — 
prerogative  men,  earnest  for  a  permanent  salary  for  the  King's 
Governor ;  patriots  resisting  such  an  estabhshment,  and  indig- 
nant at  the  negative  exercised  by  that  officer. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  century  after  the  settlement,  three  gene- 
rations of  men  had  passed  away.  For  vigor,  boldness,  enter- 
prise, and  a  self-sacrificing  spirit,  Massachusetts  stood  unri- 
vaUed.2  She  had  added  wealth  and  extensive  dominion  to  the 
English  Crown.  She  had  turned  a  barren  wilderness  into  a  cul- 
tivated field,  and  instead  of  barbarous  tribes  had  planted  civil- 
ized communities.  She  had  prevented  France  from  taking  pos- 
session of  the  whole  of  North  America ;  conquered  Port  Royal 
and  Acadia  ;  and  attempted  the  conquest  of  Canada  with  a  fleet 
of  thu'ty-two  sail  and  two  thousand  men.  At  one  time,  a  fifth 
of  her  whole  effective  male  population  was  in  arms.  When 
Nevis  was  plundered  by  Iberville,  she  voluntarily  transmitted 

1  See  A  Brief  Account  concerning  the  Agents  of  Neio  England  and  tlieir 
Negotiation  icith  the  Court  of  England.     By  Increase  Mather.     London,  1691. 

2  See  A  Defence  of  the  Neio  England  Charters,  by  Jeremiah  Dummer,  printed 
in  1721. 


348  MUNICIPAL  mSTOKY. 

two  thousand  pounds  sterling  for  the  relief  of  the  inhabitants  of 
that  island.  By  these  exertions  her  resources  were  exhausted, 
her  treasury  was  impoverished,  and  she  stood  bereft  and  "  alone 
with  her  glory." 

Boston  shared  in  the  embarrassments  of  the  Commonwealth. 
Her  commerce  was  crippled  by  severe  revenue  laws  and  by  a 
depreciated  currency.  Her  population  did  not  exceed  fifteen 
thousand.  In  September,  1730,  she  was  prevented  from  all 
notice  of  this  anniversary  by  the  desolations  of  the  smallpox. 

Notwithstanding  the  darkness  of  these  clouds  which  overhung 
Massachusetts  and  its  metropolis  at  the  close  of  the  first  century, 
in  other  aspects  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day  may  be  discerned. 
The  exclusive  policy  in  matters  of  religion,  to  which  the  State 
had  been  subjected,  began  gradually  to  give  place  to  a  more  per- 
fect liberty.  Literature  was  exchanging  subtle  metaphysics, 
quaint  conceits,  and  unwieldy  lore  for  inartificial  reasoning,  sim- 
ple taste,  and  natural  thought.  Dummer  defended  the  colony  in 
language  polished  in  the  society  of  Pope  and  of  Bolingbroke. 
Coleman,  Cooper,  Chauncy,  Bowdoin,  and  others  of  that  con- 
stellation, were  on  the  horizon.  By  their  side  shone  the  star  of 
Franklin ;  its  early  brightness  giving  promise  of  its  meridian 
splendors.  Even  now  began  to  appear  signs  of  revolution. 
Voices  of  complaint  and  murmur  were  heard  in  the  air.  "  Spi- 
rits finely  touched  and  to  fine  issues,"  —  willing  and  fearless,  — 
breathing  unutterable  things,  flashed  along  the  darkness.  In  the 
sky  were  seen  streaming  lights,  indicating  the  approach  of  lumi- 
naries yet  below  the  horizon,  —  Adams,  Hancock,  Otis,  War- 
ren, —  leaders  of  a  glorious  host,  precursors  of  eventful  times, 
"  with  fear  of  change  perplexing  monarchs." 

It  would  be  appropriate,  did  time  permit,  to  speak  of  these 
luminaries,  in  connection  with  our  Revolution ;  to  trace  the  prin- 
ciples, which  dictated  the  first  emigration  of  the  founders  of  this 
metropolis,  through  the  several  stages  of  their  development ;  and 
to  show  that  the  declaration  of  independence,  in  1776,  itself,  and 
all  the  struggles  which  preceded  it,  and  aU  the  voluntary  sacri- 
fices, the  self-devotion,  and  the  sufferings,  to  which  the  people 
of  that  day  submitted,  for  the  attainment  of  independence,  were, 
so  far  as  respects  Massachusetts,  but  the  natural  and  inevitable 
consequences  of  the  terms  of  that  noble  engagement,  made  by 
our  ancestors,  in  August,  1629,  the  year  before  their  emigration; 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  349 

which  may  well  be  denominated,  from  its  early  and  later 
results,  the  first  and  original  declaration  of  independence  by 
Massachusetts. 

"^7/  God's  assistance,  we  will  he  ready  in  our  persons,  and 
with  such  of  our  families  as  are  to  go  ivith  us,  to  embark  for  the 
said  plantation  by  the  first  of  March  next,  to  pass  the  seas  [under 
Gods  jjrotection)  to  inhabit  and  continue  in  New  Eng-la?id.  Pro- 
vided always,  that  before  the  last  of  September  next,  the  whole 

GOVERNMENT,  TOGETHER  WITH  THE  PATENT,  BE  FIRST  LEGALLY 
TRANSFERRED  AND  ESTABLISHED,  TO  REMAIN  WITH  US  AND  OTHERS, 
WHICH  SHALL  INHABIT    THE    SAID    PLANTATION."  ^       GcncrOUS  rCSO- 

lution  !  Noble  foresight !  Sublime  self-devotion ;  chastened  and 
directed  by  a  wisdom,  faithful  and  prospective  of  distant  conse- 
quences !  WeU  may  we  exclaim,  —  "  This  policy  overtopped  all 
the  policy  of  this  world." 

For  the  advancement  of  the  three  great  objects  which  were 
the  scope  of  the  policy  of  om-  ancestors,  —  intellectual  power, 
religious  liberty,  and  civil  liberty,  —  Boston  has  in  no  period 
been  surpassed,  either  in  readiness  to  incur,  or  in  energy  to 
make  useful,  personal  or  pecuniary  sacrifices.  She  provided  for 
the  education  of  her  citizens  out  of  the  general  fund,  antece- 
dently to  the  law  of  the  Commonwealth  making  such  provision 
imperative.  Nor  can  it  be  questioned,  that  her  example  and 
influence  had  a  decisive  effect  in  producing  that  law.  An  intel- 
ligent generosity  has  been  conspicuous  among  her  inhabitants 
on  this  subject,  from  the  day  when,  in  1635,  they  "  entreated 
our  brother  Philemon  Pormont  to  become  schoolmaster,  for  the 
teaching  and  nurturing  children  with  us,"  to  this  hour,  when 
what  is  equivalent  to  a  capital  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars  is  invested  in  school-houses,  eighty  schools  are 
maintained,  and  seven  thousand  and  five  hundred  children  edu- 
cated at  an  expense  exceeding  annually  sixty-five  thousand 
dollars.  No  city  in  the  world,  in  proportion  to  its  means  and 
population,  ever  gave  more  uniform  and  unequivocal  evidences 

'  See  "  A  true  coppie  of  the  agreement  at  Cambridge,  1629,"  in  Hutchinson's 
Collection  of  Original  Papers  relative  to  the  History  of  the  Colony  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  p.  25,  signed  by 

Richard  Saltoustall,  John  Winthrop,  Thomas  Sharp, 

Thomas  Dudley,  Kellam  Browne,  Increase  Nowell, 

William  Vassal,  Isaac  Johnson,  William  Pynchon, 

Nicko :  West,  John  Humfrey,  William  Colbron." 

30 


350  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

of  its  desire  to  diffuse  intellectual  power  and  moral  culture 
through  the  whole  mass  of  the  community.  The  result  is  every 
day  witnessed,  at  home  and  abroad,  in  private  intercourse  and 
in  the  public  assembly ;  in  a  quiet  and  orderly  demeanor,  in  the 
self-respect  and  mutual  harmony  prevalent  among  its  citizens ; 
in  the  general  comfort  which  characterizes  their  condition;  in 
their  submission  to  the  laws ;  and  in  that  wonderful  capacity  for 
self-government,  which  postponed  for  almost  two  centuries  a 
city  organization  ;  — ■■  and  this,  even  then,  was  adopted  more  with 
reference  to  anticipated,  than  from  experience  of  existing  evils. 
During  the  whole  of  that  period,  and  even  after  its  population 
exceeded  fifty  thousand,  its  financial,  economical,  and  municipal 
interests  were  managed,  either  by  general  vote,  or  by  men 
appointed  by  the  whole  multitude ;  and  with  a  regularity,  wis- 
dom, and  success,  which  it  will  be  happy  if  future  adminis- 
trations shall  equal,  and  which  certainly  they  wilL  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  exceed. 

The  influence  of  the  institutions  of  our  fathers  is  also  appa- 
rent in  that  munificence  towards  objects  of  public  interest  or 
charity,  for  which,  in  every  period  of  its  history,  the  citizens  of 
Boston  have  been  distinguished,  and  which,  by  universal  con- 
sent, is  recognized  to  be  a  prominent  feature  in  their  character. 
To  no  city  has  Boston  ever  been  second  in  its' spirit  of  liberality. 
From  the  first  settlement  of  the  country  to  this  day,  it  has  been 
a  poiijt  to  which  have  tended  applications  for  assistance  or 
relief,  on  account  of  suffering  or  misfortune ;  for  the  patronage 
of  colleges,  the  endowment  of  schools,  the  erection  of  churches, 
and  the  spreading  of  learning  and  religion,  from  almost  every 
section  of  the  United  States.  Seldom  have  the  hopes  of  any 
worthy  applicant  been  disappointed.  The  benevolent  and  pub- 
lic spirit  of  its  inhabitants  is  also  evidenced  by  its  hospitals,  its 
asylums,  public  libraries,  almshouses,  charitable  associations  — 
in  its  patronage  of  the  neighboring  University,  and  in  its  sub- 
scriptions for  general  charities. 

It  is  obviously  impracticable  to  give  any  just  idea  of  the 
amount  of  these  charities.  They  flow  from  virtues  which  seek 
the  shade  and  shun  record.  They  are  silent  and  secret  out- 
wellings  of  grateful  hearts,  desirous  unostentatiously  to  acknow- 
ledge the  bounty  of  Heaven  in  their  prosperity  and  abundance. 
Tha  result  of  inquiries,  necessarily  imperfect,  however,  authorize 


CITY   GOVERNMENT.  351 

the  statement,  that,  in  the  records  of  societies  having  for  their 
objects  either  learning  or  some  public  charity,  or  in  documents 
in  the  hands  of  individuals  relative  to  contributions  for  the 
relief  of  suffering,  or  the  patronage  of  distinguished  merit  or 
talent,  there  exists  evidence  of  the  liberality  of  the  citizens  of 
this  metropolis,  and  that  chiefly  within  the  last  thirty  years,  of 
an  amount,  by  voluntary  donation  or  bequest,  exceeding  one 
million  and  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Far  short  as  this 
sum  falls  of  the  real  amount  obtained  within  that  period  from 
the  liberality  of  our  citizens,  it  is  yet  enough  to  make  evident, 
that  the  best  spirit  of  the  institutions  of  our  ancestors  survives 
in  the  hearts,  and  is  exhibited  in  the  lives,  of  the  citizens  of 
Boston  ;  inspiring  love  of  country  and  duty ;  stimulating  to  the 
active  virtues  of  benevolence  and  charity;  exciting  wealth  and 
power  to  their  best  exercises ;  counteracting  what  is  selfish  in 
our  nature ;  and  elevating  the  moral  and  social  virtues  to  wise 
sacrifices  and  noble  energies. 

With  respect  to  religious  liberty,  where  does  it  exist  in  a  more 
perfect  state,  than  in  this  metropolis  ?  Or  where  has  it  ever  been 
enjoyed  in  a  purer  spirit,  or  with  happier  consequences  ?  In. 
what  city  of  equal  population  are  all  classes  of  society  more 
distinguished  for  obedience  to  the  institutions  of  religion,  for 
regular  attendance  on  its  worship,  for  more  happy  intercourse 
with  its  ministers,  or  more  uniformly  honorable  support  of  them  ? 
In  all  struggles  connected  with  religious  liberty,  and  these  are 
inseparable  from  its  possession,  it  may  be  said  of  the  inhabitants 
of  this  city,  as  truly  as  of  any  similar  association  of  men,  that 
they  have  ever  maintained  the  freedom  of  the  Gospel  in  the 
spirit  of  Christianity.  Divided  into  various  sects,  theu*  mutual 
intercourse  has,  almost  without  exception,  been  harmonious  and 
respectful.  The  labors  of  intemperate  zealots,  with  which,  occa- 
sionally, every  age  has  been  troubled,  have  seldom,  in  this  metro- 
polis, been  attended  with  their  natural  and  usual  consequences. 
Its  sects  have  never  been  made  to  fear  or  hate  one  another. 
The  genius  of  its  inhabitants,  through  the  influence  of  the  intel- 
lectual power  which  pervades  their  mass,  has  ever  been  quick  to 
detect  "  close  ambition  varnished  o'er  with  zeal."  The  modes, 
the  forms,  the  discipline,  the  opinions,  which  our  ancestors  held 
to  be  essential,  have,  in  many  respects,  been  changed  or  oblite- 
rated with  the  progress  of  time,  or  been  countervailed  or  super- 


852  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

seded  by  rival  forms  and  opinions.  But  veneration  for  the 
Sacred  Scriptures  and  attachment  to  the  right  of  free  inquiry, 
which  were  the  substantial  motives  of  their  emigration  and  of 
all  their  institutions,  remain,  and  are  maintained  in  a  Christian 
spirit,  (judging  by  life  and  language,)  certainly  not  exceeded  in 
the  times  of  any  of  our  ancestors.  The  right  to  read  those 
Scriptures  is  universally  recognized.  The  means  to  acquire  the 
possession  and  to  attain  the  knowledge  of  them  are  multiplied 
by  the  intelligence  and  liberality  of  the  age,  and  extended  to 
every  class  of  society.  All  men  are  invited  to  search  for  them- 
selves concerning  the  grounds  of  their  hopes  of  future  happiness 
and  acceptance.  All  are  permitted  to  hear  from  the  lips  of  our 
Saviom-  himself,  that  "  the  meek,"  "  the  merciful,"  "  the  pure  in 
heart,"  "  the  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake,"  are  those  who 
shall  receive  the  blessing,  and  be  admitted  to  the  presence,  of 
the  Eternal  Father ;  and  to  be  assured  from  those  sacred  records, 
that,  "  in  every  nation,  he  who  feareth  God  and  worketh  rightr 
eousness,  is  accepted  of  him."  Elevated  by  the  power  of  these 
sublime  assurances,  as  conformable  to  reason  as  to  Revelation, 
man's  intellectual  principle  rises  "  above  the  smoke  and  stir  of 
this  dim  spot,"  and,  like  an  eagle  soaring  above  the  Andes,  looks 
down  on  the  cloudy  cliffs,  the  narrow,  separating  points,  and 
flaming  craters,  ^vhich  divide  and  terrify  men  below. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary,  on  this  occasion,  to  speak  of  civil 
liberty,  or  to  tell  of  our  constitutions  of  government;  of  the 
freedom  they  maintain  and  are  calculated  to  preserve  ;  of  the 
equality  they  establish ;  the  self-respect  they  encourage ;  the 
private  and  domestic  virtues  they  cherish ;  the  love  of  country 
they  inspire;  the  self-devotion  and  self-sacrifice  they  enjoin;  — 
all  these  are  but  the  filling  up  of  the  great  outline  sketched  by 
our  fathers,  the  parts  in  which,  through  the  darkness  and  per- 
versity of  their  times,  they  were  defective,  being  corrected ;  all 
are  but  endeavors,  conformed  to  their  great,  original  conception, 
to  group  together  the  strength  of  society  and  the  religious  and 
civil  rights  of  the  individual,  in  a  living  and  breathing  spirit  of 
efiicient  power,  by  forms  of  civil  government,  adapted  to  our 
condition,  and  adjusted  to  social  relations  of  unexampled  great- 
ness and  extent,  unparalleled  in  their  results,  and  connected  by 
principles  elevated  as  the  nature  of  man,  and  immortal  as  his 
destinies. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  353 

It  is  not,  however,  from  local  position,  nor  from  general  cir- 
cumstances of  life  and  fortune,  that  the  peculiar  felicity  of  this 
metropolis  is  to  be  deduced.  Her  enviable  distinction  is,  that 
she  is  among  the  chiefest  of  that  happy  New  England  family, 
which  claims  descent  from  the  early  emigrants.  If  we  take  a 
survey  of  that  famUy,  and,  excluding  from  our  view  the  unnum- 
bered multitudes  of  its  members  who  have  occupied  the  vacant 
wildernesses  of  other  States,  we  restrict  our  thoughts  to  the  local 
sphere  of  New  England,  what  scenes  open  upon  our  sight! 
How  wild  and  visionary  would  seem  our  prospects,  did  we 
indulge  only  natural  anticipations  of  the  future!  Already,  on 
an  area  of  seventy  thousand  square  miles,  a  population  of  two 
millions ;  all,  but  comparatively  a  few,  descendants  of  the  early 
emigrants!  Six  independent  Commonwealths,  with  constitu- 
tions varying  in  the  relations  and  proportions  of  power,  yet 
uniform  in  all  their  general  principles ;  diverse  in  their  political 
arrangements,  yet  each  sufficient  for  its  own  necessities  ;  all 
harmonious  with  those  without,  and  peaceful  within ;  embrac- 
ing, under  the  denomination  of  toivns,  upwards  of  twelve  hun- 
dred effective  republics,  with  qualified  powers,  indeed,  but  pos- 
sessing potent  influences;  —  subject  themselves  to  the  respective 
State  sovereignties,  yet  directing  all  their  operations,  and  shaping 
their  poUcy  by  constitutional  agencies ;  swayed,  no  less  than 
the  greater  republics,  by  passions,  interests,  and  affections  ;  like 
them,  exciting  competitions  which  rouse  into  action  the  latent 
energies  of  mind,  and  infuse  into  the  mass  of  each  society  a 
knowledge  of  the  nature  of  its  interests,  and  a  capacity  to  under- 
stand and  share  in  the  defence  of  those  of  the  Commonwealth. 
The  effect  of  these  minor  republics  is  daily  seen  in  the  existence 
of  practical  talents,  and  in  the  readiness  with  which  those 
talents  can  be  called  into  the  public  service  of  the  State. 

If,  after  this  general  survey  of  the  surface  of  New  England, 
we  cast  our  eyes  on  its  cities  and  great  towns,  with  what  won- 
der should  we  behold,  did  not  familiarity  render  the  phenomenon 
almost  unnoticed,  men,  combined  in  great  multitudes,  possessing 
freedom  and  the  consciousness  of  strength,  —  the  comparative 
physical  power  of  the  ruler  less  than  that  of  a  cobweb  across  a 
lion's  path,  —  yet  orderly,  obedient,  and  respectful  to  authority; 
a  people,  but  no  populace ;  every  class  in  reality  existing,  which 
the  general  law  of  society  acknowledges,  except  one,  —  and  this 
30* 


354  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

exception  characterizing  the  whole  country.  The  soil  of  New- 
England  is  trodden  by  no  slave.  In  our  streets,  in  our  assem- 
blies, in  the  halls  of  election  and  legislation,  men  of  every  rank 
and  condition  meet,  and  unite  or  divide  on  other  principles,  and 
are  actuated  by  other  motives,  than  those  growing  out  of  such 
distinctions.  The  fears  and  jealousies,  which  in  other  countries 
separate  classes  of  men  and  make  them  hostile  to  each  other, 
have  here  no  influence,  or  a  very  limited  one.  Each  individual, 
of  whatever  condition,  has  the  consciousness  of  living  under 
known  laws,  which  secure  equal  rights,  and  guarantee  to  each 
whatever  portion  of  the  goods  of  life,  be  it  great  or  small,  chance, 
or  talent,  or  industry  may  have  bestowed.  All  perceive,  that 
the  honors  and  rewards  of  society  are  open  equally  to  the  fair 
competition  of  all ;  that  the  distinctions  of  wealth,  or  of  power, 
are  not  fixed  in  families ;  that  whatever  of  this  nature  exists 
to-day,  may  be  changed  to-morrow,  or,  in  a  coming  generation, 
be  absolutely  reversed.  Common  principles,  interests,  hopes, 
and  affections,  are  the  result  of  universal  education.  Such  are 
the  consequences  of  the  equality  of  rights,  and  of  the  provisions 
for  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  and  the  distribution  of 
intestate  estates,  established  by  the  laws  framed  by  the  earliest 
emigrants  to  New  England. 

If  from  our  cities  we  turn  to  survey  the  wide  expanse  of  the 
interior,  how  do  the  effects  of  the  institutions  and  example  of 
our  early  ancestors  appear,  in  all  the  local  comfort  and  accom- 
modation which  mark  the  general  condition  of  the  whole  coun- 
try ;  —  unobtrusive  indeed,  but  substantial ;  in  nothing  splendid, 
but  in  every  thing  sufficient  and  satisfactory.  Indications  of 
active  talent  and  practical  energy  exist  everywhere.  With  a 
soil  comparatively  little  luxuriant,  and  in  great  proportion  either 
rock,  or  hill,  or  sand,  the  skill  and  industry  of  man  ^re  seen 
triumphing  over  the  obstacles  of  natm-e ;  making  the  rock  the 
guardian  of  the  field ;  moulding  the  granite,  as  though  it  were 
clay ;  leading  cultivation  to  the  hill-top,  and  spreading  over  the 
arid  plain,  hitherto  unknown  and  unanticipated  harvests.  The 
lofty  mansion  of  the  prosperous  adjoins  the  lowly  dwelling  of 
the  husbandman ;  their  respective  inmates  are  in  the  daily  inter- 
change of  civility,  sympathy,  and  respect.  Enterprise  and  skill, 
which  once  held  chief  affinity  with  the  ocean  or  the  sea-board, 
now  begin  to  delight  the  interior,  haunting-  our  rivers,  where  the 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  355 

music  of  the  waterfall,  with  powers  more  attractive  than  those 
of  the  fabled  harp  of  Orpheus,  collects  around  it  intellectual  man 
and  material  nature.  Towns  and  cities,  civilized  and  happy 
communities,  rise,  like  exhalations,  on  rocks  and  in  forests,  till 
the  deep  and  far-resounding  voice  of  the  neighboring  torrent  is 
itself  lost  and  unheard,  amid  the  predominating  noise  of  success- 
ful and  rejoicing  labor. 

What  lessons  has  New  England,  in  every  period  of  her  his- 
tory, given  to  the  world !  What  lessons  do  her  condition  and 
example  still  give !  How  unprecedented ;  yet  how  practical ! 
How  simple  ;  yet  how  powerful !  She  has  proved,  that  all  the 
variety  of  Christian  sects  may  live  together  in  harmony,  under 
a  government,  which  allows  equal  privileges  to  all,  —  exclusive 
preeminence  to  none.  She  has  proved,  that  ignorance  among 
the  multitude  is  not  necessary  to  order,  but  that  the  surest  basis 
of  perfect  order  is  the  information  of  the  people.  She  has  proved 
the  old  maxim,  that  "  no  government,  except  a  despotism  with 
a  standing  army,  can  subsist  where  the  people  have  arms,"  is 
false.  Ever  since  the  first  settlement  of  the  country,  arms  have 
been  required  to  be  m  the  hands  of  the  whole  multitude  of  New 
England ;  yet  the  use  of  them  in  a  private  quarrel,  if  it  have  ever 
happened,  is  so  rare,  that  a  late  writer,  of  great  intelligence,  who 
had  passed  his  whole  life  in  New  England,  and  possessed  exten- 
sive means  of  information,  declares,  "  I  know  not  a  single 
instance  of  it."^  She  has  proved,  that  a  people,  of  a  character 
essentially  military,  may  subsist  without  duelling.  New  Eng- 
land has,  at  all  times,  been  distinguished,  both  on  the  land  and 
on  the  ocean,  for  a  daring,  fearless,  and  enterprising  spirit ;  yet 
the  same  writer ^  asserts,  that  during  the  whole  period  of  her 
existence,  her  soil  has  been  disgraced  but  hy  Jive  duels,  and  that 
only  tioo  of  these  were  fought  by  her  native  inhabitants !  Per- 
haps this  assertion  is  not  minutely  correct.  There  can,  however, 
be  no  question,  that  it  is  sufficiently  near  the  truth  to  justify  the 
position  for  which  it  is  here  adduced,  and  which  the  history  of 
New  England,  as  well  as  the  experience  of  her  inhabitants, 
abundantly  confirms ;  that,  in  the  present  and  in  every  past  age, 
the  spirit  of  our  institutions  has,  to  every  important  practical 
pm-pose,  annihilated  the  spirit  of  duelling. 

1  See  Travels  in  New  England  and  Neio  York,  by  Timotliy  Dwiglit,  S.  T.  D., 
LL.  D.,  late  President  of  Yale  College,  vol.  iv.  p.  334. 

2  Md.  p.  336. 


356  MUNICIPAL  mSTOKY. 

Such  are  the  true  glories  of  the  institutions  of  our  fathers! 
Sach  the  natural  fruits  of  that  patience  in  toU,  that  frugality  of 
disposition,  that  temperance  of  habit,  that  general  diffusion  of 
knowledge,  and  that  sense  of  rehgious  responsibility,  inculcated 
by  the  precepts,  and  exhibited  in  the  example  of  every  genera- 
tion of  our  ancestors ! 

And  now,  standing  at  this  hour  on  the  dividing  line  which 
separates  the  ages  that  are  past  from  those  which  are  to  come, 
how  solemn  is  the  thought,  that  not  one  of  this  vast  assembly, 
not  one  of  that  great  multitude  who  now  throng  our  streets, 
rejoice  in  om'  fields,  and  make  our  hills  echo  with  their  gratula- 
tions,  shall  live  to  witness  the  next  return  of  the  era  we  this  day 
celebrate  !  The  dark  veU  of  futurity  conceals  from  human  sight 
the  fate  of  cities  and  nations  as  well  as  of  individuals.  Man 
passes  away ;  generations  are  but  shadows ;  there  is  nothing 
stable  but  truth  ;  principles  only  are  immortal. 

What  then,  in  conclusion  of  this  great  topic,  are  the  elements 
of  the  liberty,  prosperity,  and  safety  which  the  inhabitants  of 
New  England  at  this  day  enjoy  ?  In  what  language,  and  con- 
cerning what  comprehensive  truths  does  the  wisdom  of  former 
times  address  the  inexperience  of  the  future  ? 

Those  elements  are  simple,  obvious,  and  familiar. 

Every  civil  and  religious  blessing  of  New  England,  all  that 
here  gives  happiness  to  human  life  or  security  to  human  virtue 
is  alone  to  be  perpetuated  in  the  forms  and  under  the  auspices 
of  a  free  commonwealth. 

The  Commonwealth  itself  has  no  other  strength  or  hope  than 
the  intelligence  and  virtue  of  the  individuals  that  compose  it. 

For  the  intelligence  and  virtue  of  individuals,  there  is  no  other 
human  assurance  than  laws,  providing  for  the  education  of  the 
whole  people. 

These  laws  themselves  have  no  strength  or  efficient  sanction, 
except  in  the  moral  and  accountable  nature  of  man,  disclosed  in 
the  records  of  the  Christian's  faith  ;  the  right  to  read,  to  construe, 
and  to  judge  concerning  which,  belongs  to  no  class  or  caste  of 
men,  but  exclusively  to  the  individual,  who  must  stand  or  fall 
by  his  own  acts  and  his  own  faith,  and  not  by  those  of  another. 

The  great  comprehensive  truths,  written  in  letters  of  living 
light  on  every  page  of  our  history,  the  language  addressed  by 
every  past  age  of  New  England  to  all  future  ages  is  this,  — 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  357 

Human  happiness  has  no  perfect  security  hut  freedom ;  freedom 
none  but  virtue ;  virtue  none  but  knoivledg-e ;  and  neither  free- 
dom, nor  virtue,  nor  knowledge  has  any  vigor  or  immortal  hope, 
except  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  faith  and  in  the  sanctions 
of  the  Christian  religion. 

Men  of  Massachusetts  !  Citizens  of  Boston !  Descendants  of 
the  early  emigrants  !  consider  your  blessings ;  consider  your 
duties.  You  have  an  inheritance  acquired  by  the  labors  and 
sufferings  of  six  successive  generations  of  ancestors.  They 
founded  the  fabric  of  your  prosperity  in  a  severe  and  masculine 
morality ;  having  intelligence  for  its  cement  and  religion  for  its 
groundwork.  Continue  to  build  on  the  same  foundation  and 
by  the  same  principles  ;  let  the  extending  temple  of  your  coun- 
try's freedom  rise  in  the  spirit  of  ancient  times,  in  proportions  of 
intellectual  and  moral  architecture, — just,  simple,  and  sublime. 
As  from  the  first  to  this  day,  let  New  England  continue  to  be  an 
example  to  the  world  of  the  blessings  of  a  free  government,  and 
of  the  means  and  capacity  of  man  to  maintain  it.  And,  in  aU 
times  to  come  as  in  aU  times  past,  may  Boston  be  among  the 
foremost  and  the  boldest  to  exemplify  and  uphold  whatever  con- 
stitutes the  prosperity,  the  happiness,  and  the  glory  of  New 
England. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

CITY   GOVERNMENT.     1830. 

Harrison  Gray  Otis,  Mayor. 

An  Ode,  pronounced  before  tlie  Inhabitants  of  Boston,  on  the  17tli  of  Septem- 
ber, 1830,  at  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Settlement  of  the  City.  By 
Charles  Sprague. 

Not  to  the  Pagan's  mount  I  turn, 

For  inspiration  now ; 
Olympus  and  its  gods  I  spurn  — 

Pure  One,  be  with  me.  Thou! 

Thou,  in  whose  awful  name, 

From  suffering  and  from  shame. 
Our  Fathers  fled,  and  braved  a  pathless  sea ; 

Thou,  in  whose  holy  fear. 

They  fixed  an  empu'e  here, 
And  gave  it  to  their  Children  and  to  Thee. 

n. 

And  You  !  ye  bright  ascended  Dead, 

Who  scorned  the  bigot's  yoke, 
Come,  round  this  place  your  influence  shed ; 
Your  spirits  I  invoke. 
Come,  as  ye  came  of  yore, 
When  on  an  unknown  shore, 
Your  daring  hands  the  flag  of  faith  unfurled, 
To  float  sublime, 
Through  future  time. 
The  beacon-banner  of  another  world. 

m. 

Behold !  they  come  —  those  sainted  forms, 
Unshaken  through  the  strife  of  storms  ; 
Heaven's  winter  cloud  hangs  coldly  down, 
And  earth  puts  on  its  rudest  frown  ; 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  359 

But  colder,  ruder  was  the  hand, 
That  drove  them  from  theu*  own  fair  land ; 
Their  own  fair  land  —  refinement's  chosen  seat. 
Art's  trophied  dwelHng,  learning's  green  retreat ; 
By  valor  guarded,  and  by  victory  crowned, 
For  all,  but  gentle  charity,  renowned. 

With  streaming  eye,  yet  steadfast  heart, 
Even  from  that  land  they  dared  to  part, 

And  burst  each  tender  tie ; 
Haunts,  where  their  sunny  youth  was  passed, 
Homes,  where  they  fondly  hoped  at  last 

In  peaceful  age  to  die  ; 
Friends,  kindred,  comfort,  all  they  spurned  — 

Their  fathers'  hallowed  graves  ; 
And  to  a  world  of  darkness  turned, 
Beyond  a  world  of  waves. 

IV. 

When  Israel's  race  from  bondage  fled. 

Signs  from  on  high  the  wanderers  led ; 

But  here  —  Heaven  hung  no  symbol  here, 

Their  steps  to  guide,  their  souls  to  cheer; 

They  saw,  thro'  sorrow's  lengthening  night. 

Nought  but  the  fagot's  guilty  light ; 

The  cloud  they  gazed  at  was  the  smoke,  , 

That  round  their  murdered  brethren  broke. 

Nor  power  above,  nor  power  below, 

Sustained  them  in  their  hour  of  woe ; 

A  fearful  path  they  trod, 

And  dared  a  fearful  doom ; 
To  build  an  altar  to  their  God, 

And  find  a  quiet  tomb. 


But  not  alone,  not  all  unblessed, 
The  exile  sought  a  place  of  rest ; 
One  dared  with  him  to  burst  the  knot. 
That  bound  her  to  her  native  spot ; 
Her  low  sweet  voice  in  comfort  spoke. 
As  round  then*  bark  the  billows  broke  ; 


360  MUNICIPAL  history; 

She  through  the  midnight  watch  was  there, 
With  him  to  bend  her  knees  in  prayer ; 
She  trod  the  shore  with  girded  heart, 
Through  good  and  ill  to  claim  her  part ; 
In  life,  in  death,  with  him  to  seal 
Her  kindred  love,  her  kindred  zeal. 

VI. 

They  come  — :  that  coming  who  shall  tell  ? 
The  eye  may  weep,  the  heart  may  swell, 
But  the  poor  tongue  in  vain  essays 
A  fitting  note  for  them  to  raise. 
We  hear  the  after-shout  that  rings 
For  them  who  smote  the  power  of  kings ; 
The  swelling  triumph  all  would  share, 
But  who  the  dark  defeat  would  dare. 
And  boldly  meet  the  wrath  and  woe. 
That  wait  the  unsuccessful  blow  ? 
It  were  an  envied  fate,  we  deem, 
To  live  a  land's  recorded  theme, 

When  we  are  in  the  tomb ; 
We,  too,  might  yield  the  joys  of  home, 
And  waves  of  winter  darkness  roam. 

And  tread  a  shore  of  gloom  — 
Knew  we  those  waves,  through  coming  time, 
Should  roll  om*  names  to  every  clime ; 
Felt  we  that  millions  on  that  shore 
Should  stand,  our  memory  to  adore  — 
But  no  glad  vision  burst  in  light. 
Upon  the  Pilgrims'  aching  sight 
Their  hearts  no  proud  hereafter  swelled ; 
Deep  shadows  veiled  the  way  they  held ; 
The  yell  of  vengeance  was  then-  trump  of  fame. 
Their  monument,  a  grave  without  a  name. 

vn. 

Yet,  strong  in  weakness,  there  they  stand, 

On  yonder  ice-bound  rock. 
Stern  and  resolved,  that  faithful  band, 

To  meet  fate's  rudest  shock. 


CITY   GOVERmiENT.  361 

Though  anguish  rends  the  father's  breast, 
For  them,  his  dearest  and  his  best, 

"With  him  the  waste  who  trod  — 
Though  tears  that  freeze,  the  mother  sheds 
Upon  her  children's  houseless  heads  — 

The  Christian  turns  to  God! 

vni. 

In  grateful  adoration  now. 

Upon  the  barren  sands  they  bow. 

What  tongue  of  joy  e'er  woke  such  prayer, 

As  bursts  in  desolation  there  ? 

What  arm  of  strength  e'er  wrought  such  power, 

As  waits  to  crown  that  feeble  hour  ? 
There  into  life  an  infant  empire  springs ! 

There  falls  the  iron  from  the  soul ; 

There  liberty's  young  accents  roll. 
Up  to  the  King  of  kings  ! 

To  fair  creation's  farthest  bound. 

That  thrilling  summons  yet  shall  sound  ; 

The  dreaming  nations  shall  awake. 
And  to  their  centre  earth's  old  kingdoms  shake. 
Pontiff  and  prince,  your  sway 
Must  crumble  from  that  day ; 

Before  the  loftier  throne  of  Heaven, 

The  hand  is  raised,  the  pledge  is  given  — 
One  monarch  to  obey,  one  creed  to  own. 
That  monarch,  God,  that  creed,  His  word  alone. 

IX. 

Spread  out  earth's  holiest  records  here. 
Of  days  and  deeds  to  reverence  dear  ; 
A  zeal  like  this  what  pious  legends  tell  ? 
On  kingdoms  built 
Li  blood  and  guilt. 
The  worshippers  of  vulgar  triumph  dwell  — 
But  what  exploit  with  theirs  shall  page, 

Who  rose  to  bless  their  kind ; 
Who  left  their  nation  and  their  age, 
Man's  spirit  to  unbind  ? 
31 


362  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

Who  boundless  seas  passed  o'er. 
And  boldly  met,  in  every  path, 
Famine  and  frost  and  heathen  wrath, 
To  dedicate  a  shore. 
Where  piety's  meek  train  might  breathe  their  vow, 
And  seek  their  Maker  with  an  unshamed  brow  ; 
Where  liberty's  glad  race  might  proudly  come, 
And  set  up  there  an  everlasting  home  ? 


O  many  a  time  it  hath  been  told,  l 

The  story  of  those  men  of  old :  | 

For  this  fair  poetry  hath  wreathed  J 

Her  sweetest,  purest  flower ;  >f 

For  this  proud  eloquence  hath  breathed  i 

His  strain  of  loftiest  power ;  '  -^ 

Devotion,  too,  hath  lingered  round 
Each  spot  of  consecrated  ground, 

And  hill  and  valley  blessed  ; 
There,  where  our  banished  Fathers  strayed, 
There,  where  they  loved  and  wept  and  prayed, 

There,  where  then-  ashes  rest. 

XI. 

And  never  may  they  rest  unsung, 
While  liberty  can  find  a  tongue. 
Twine,  Gratitude,  a  wreath  for  them. 
More  deathless  than  the  diadem. 

Who  to  life's  noblest  end. 

Gave  up  life's  noblest  powers. 
And  bade  the  legacy  descend, 

Down,  down  to  us  and  ours. 

xn. 

By  centuries  now  the  glorious  hour  we  mark. 

When  to  these  shores  they  steered  their  shattered  bark  ; 

And  still,  as  other  centuries  melt  away. 

Shall  other  ages  come  to  keep  the  day. 

When  we  are  dust,  who  gather  round  this  spot. 

Our  joys,  our  griefs,  our  very  names  forgot, 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  363 

Here  shall  the  dwellers  of  the  land  be  seen, 
To  keep  the  memory  of  the  Pilgrims  green. 
Nor  here  alone  their  praises  shall  go  round, 
Nor  here  alone  their  virtues  shall  abound  — 
Broad  as  the  empire  of  the  free  shall  spread, 
Far  as  the  foot  of  man  shall  dare  to  tread. 
Where  oar  hath  never  dipped,  where  human  tongue 
Hath  never  through  the  woods  of  ages  rung, 
There,  where  the  eagle's  scream  and  wild  wolf's  cry 
Keep  ceaseless  day  and  night  through  earth  and  sky, 
Even  there,  in  after  time,  as  toil  and  taste 
Go  forth  in  gladness  to  redeem  the  waste, 
Even  there  shall  rise,  as  grateful  myriads  throng, 
Faith's  holy  prayer  and  freedom's  joyful  song  ; 
There  shall  the  flame  that  flashed  from  yonder  Rock, 
Light  up  the  land  till  nature's  final  shock. 

xni. 

Yet  while  by  life's  endearments  crowned, 

To  mark  this  day  we  gather  round, 

And  to  our  nation's  founders  raise 

The  voice  of  gratitude  and  praise, 
Shall  not  one  line  lament  that  lion  race, 
For  us  struck  out  from  sweet  creation's  face  ? 
Alas !  alas !  for  them  —  those  fated  bands,  ' 

Whose  monarch  tread  was  on  these  broad,  green  lands ; 
Our  fathers  called  them  savage  —  them,  whose  bread. 
In  the  dark  hour,  those  famished  fathers  fed  : 

We  call  them  savage,  we. 

Who  hail  the  struggling  free, 

Of  every  clime  and  hue  ; 
We,  who  would  save 
The  branded  slave. 
And  give  him  liberty  he  never  knew : 

We,  who  but  now  have  caught  the  tale, 

That  turns  each  listening  tyrant  pale. 

And  blessed  the  winds  and  waves  that  bore 

The  tidings  to  our  Idndred  shore  ; 
The  triumph-tidings  pealing  from  that  land, 
Where  up  in  arms  insulted  legions  stand  ; 


364  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

There,  gathering  round  his  bold  compeers, 
Where  He,  our  own,  our  welcomed  One, 
Riper  in  glory  than  in  years, 
Down  from  his  forfeit  throne, 
A  craven  monarch  hurled, 
And  spurned  him  forth,  a  proverb  to  the  world  I 

XIV. 

We  caU  them  savage  —  O  be  just ! 

Their  outraged  feelings  scan  ; 
A  voice  comes  forth,  'tis  from  the  dust  — 

The  savage  was  a  man ! 
Tliink  ye  he  loved  not  ?  who  stood  by, 

And  in  his  toils  took  part  ? 
Woman  w^as  there  to  bless  his  eye  —  ^ 

The  savage  had  a  heart ! 
Think  ye  he  prayed  not  ?  when  on  high 

He  heard  the  thunders  roll. 
What  bade  him  look  beyond  the  sky  ? 

The  savage  had  a  soul ! 

XV. 

I  venerate  the  Pilgrim's  cause, 
Yet  for  the  red  man  dare  to  plead  — 
We  bow  to  Heaven's  recorded  laws. 
He  turned  to  nature  for  a  creed  ; 
Beneath  the  piUared  dome, 
We  seek  our  God  in  prayer  ; 
Through  boundless  woods  he  loved  to  roam, 
And  the  Great  Spu'it  worshipped  there : 

But  one,  one  feUow-throb  with  us  he  felt ; 

To  one  divinity  with  us  he  knelt ; 

Freedom,  the  self-same  freedom  we  adore. 

Bade  him  defend  his  violated  shore ; 

He  saw  the  cloud,  ordained  to  grow. 
And  bm-st  upon  his  hills  in  woe  ; 
He  saw  his  people  withering  by, 
Beneath  the  invader's  evil  eye  ; ' 


CITY  GOVERNMENT. 

Strange  feet  were  trampling  on  his  fathers'  bones ; 

At  midnight  hour  he  woke  to  gaze 

Upon  his  happy  cabin's  blaze, 
And  Ksten  to  his  children's  dying  groans  : 

He  saw  —  and  maddening  at  the  sight, 

Gave  his  bold  bosom  to  the  fight ; 

To  tiger  rage  his  soul  was  driven, 

Mercy  was  not  —  nor  sought  nor  given  ; 

The  pale  man  from  his  lands  must  fly  ; 

He  would  be  free  —  or  he  would  die. 


XVI. 

And  was  this  savage  ?  say, 
Ye  ancient  few. 
Who  struggled  through 
Young  freedom's  trial-day  — 
What  first  your  sleeping  wrath  awoke  ? 
On  your  own  shores  war's  larum  broke : 
What  turned  to  gall  even  kindred  blood  ? 
Round  your  own  homes  the  oppressor  stood  : 
This  every  warm  affection  chilled, 
This  every  heart  with  vengeance  thrilled. 
And  strengthened  every  hand  ; 
From  mound  to  mound, 
The  word  went  round  '■ — 
"  Death  for  our  native  land ! " 

xvn. 

Ye  mothers,  too,  breathe  ye  no  sigh, 
For  them  who  thus  could  dare  to  die  ? 
Are  all  your  own  dark  hours  forgot. 

Of  soul-sick  suffering  here  ? 
Your  pangs,  as  from  yon  mountain  spot, 
Deatji  spoke  in  every  booming  shot, 
That  knelled  upon  your  ear? 
How  oft  that  gloomy,  glorious  tale  ye  tell, 
As  round  your  knees  your  children's  children  hang. 
Of  them,  the  gallant  Ones,  ye  loved  so  well. 
Who  to  the  conflict  for  their  country  sprang. 
31* 


366  MUmCIPAL  mSTORY. 

In  pride,  in  all  the  pride  of  woe, 
Ye  tell  of  them,  the  brave  laid  low. 

Who  for  their  birthplace  bled  ; 
In  pride,  the  pride  of  triumph  then. 
Ye  teU  of  them,  the  matchless  men. 

From  whom  the  invaders  fled  I 


xvm. 

And  ye,  this  holy  place  who  throng, 
The  annual  theme  to  hear. 
And  bid  the  exulting  song 
Sound  their  great  names  from  year  to  year  ; 
Ye,  who  invoke  the  chisel's  breathing  grace, 
In  marble  majesty  their  forms  to  ti'ace  ; 

Ye,  who  the  sleeping  rocks  wovild  raise,  - 
To  guard  their  dust  and  speak  their  praise  ; 
Ye,  who,  should  some  other  band 
With  hostile  foot  defile  the  land. 
Feel  that  ye  like  them  would  wake, 
Like  them  the  yoke  of  bondage  break. 
Nor  leave  a  battle-blade  undrawn, 
Though  every  hill  a  sepulchre  should  yawn  — 
Say,  have  not  ye  one  line  for  those. 

One  brother-line  to  spare, 
Who  rose  but  as  your  Fathers  rose, 
And  dared  as  ye  would  dare  ? 

XIX. 

Alas  !  for  them  —  their  day  is  o'er. 

Their  fires  are  out  from  hill  and  shore ; 

No  more  for  them  the  wild  deer  bounds, 

The  plough  is  on  their  hunting  grounds ; 

The  pale  man's  axe  rings  through  their  woods. 

The  pale  man's  sail  skims  o'er  their  floods, 

Their  pleasant  springs  are  dry  ; 
Their  children  —  look,  by  power  oppressed, 
Beyond  the  mountains  of  the  west, 

Their  children  go  —  to  die. 


CITY  GOVEROT^IENT.  367 


XX. 


O  doubly  lost !  oblivion's  shadows  close 
Around  their  triumphs  and  their  woes. 
On  other  realms,  whose  suns  have  set, 
Reflected  radiance  lingers  yet ; 
There  sage  and  bard  have  shed  a  light 
That  never  shall  go  down  in  night ; 
There  time-crowned  columns  stand  on  high. 
To  teU  of  them  who  cannot  die ;        * 
Even  we,  who  then  were  nothing,  kneel 
In  homage  there,  and  join  earth's  general  peal. 
But  the  doomed  Indian  leaves  behind  no  trace, 
To  save  his  own,  or  serve  another  race ; 
With  his  frail  breath  his  power  has  passed  away, 
His  deeds,  his  thoughts  are  buried  with  his  clay  ; 
Nor  lofty  pile,  nor  glowing  page 
ShaU  link  him  to  a  future  age, 
Or  give  him  with  the  past  a  rank : 
His  heraldry  is  but  a  broken  bow, 
His  history  but  a  tale  of  wrong  and  woe, 
His  very  name  must  be  a  blank. 

XXI. 

Cold,  with  the  beast  he  slew,  he  sleeps  ; 
O'er  him  no  filial  spirit  weeps ; 
No  crowds  throng  round,  no  anthem-notes  ascend, 
To  bless  his  coming  and  embalm  his  end ; 
Even  that  he  lived,  is  for  his  conqueror's  tongue, 
By  foes  alone  his  death-song  must  be  sung ; 
No  chronicles  but  theirs  shall  tell 
His  mournful  doom  to  future  times  ; 
May  these  upon  his  virtues  dwell. 
And  in  his  fate  forget  his  crimes. 

xxn. 

Peace  to  the  mingling  dead ! 
Beneath  the  turf  we  tread, 


368  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

Chief,  Pilgrim,  Patriot  sleep  — 
All  gone  !  how  changed !  and  yet  the  same, 
As  when  faith's  herald  bark  first  came 
/  In  sorrow  o'er  the  deep. 

Still  from  his  noonday  height, 
The  sun  looks  down  in  light ; 
Along  the  trackless  realms  of  space. 
The  stars  still  run  their  midnight  race  ; 
The  same  green  valleys  smile,  the  same  rough  shore 
Still  echoes  to  the  same  wild  ocean's  roar :  — 
But  where  the  bristling  night-wolf  sprang 
*  Upon  his  startled  prey, 
Where  the  fierce  Indian's  war-cry  rang 

Through  many  a  bloody  fray ; 
And  where  the  stern  old  Pilgrim  prayed 

In  solitude  and  gloom, 
Where  the  bold  Patriot  drew  liis  blade, 
And  dared  a  patriot's  doom — 
Behold  !  in  liberty's  unclouded  blaze, 
We  lift  our  heads,  a  race  of  other  days. 

xxm. 

All  gone  !  the  wild  beast's  lair  is  trodden  out ; 
Proud  temples  stand  in  beauty  there  ; 
Our  children  raise  their  merry  shout, 
Where  once  the  death-whoop  vexed  the  an* : 

The  Pilgiim  —  seek  yon  ancient  place  of  gi-aves, 
Beneath  that  chapel's  holy  shade  ; 
Ask,  where  the  breeze  the  long  grass  waves, 
Who,  who  within  that  spot  are  laid : 

The  Patriot  —  go,  to  fame's  proud  mount  repair. 
The  tardy  pile,  slow  rising  there. 
With  tongueless  eloquence  shall  tell 
Of  them  who  for  their  countiy  fell. 

XXIV. 

All  gone  !  't  is  ours,-  the  goodly  land  — 
Look  round  —  the  heritage  behold ; 
Go  forth  —  upon  the  mountains  stand, 
Then,  if  ye  can,  be  cold. 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  369 

See  living  vales  by  living  waters  blessed, 

Their  wealth  see  earth's  dark  caverns  yield, 
See  ocean  roll,  in  glory  dressed, 
For  all  a  treasure,  and  round  all  a  shield : 
Hark  to  the  shouts  of  praise 
Rejoicing  millions  raise ; 
Gaze  on  the  spires  that  rise, 
To  point  them  to  the  skies, 
Unfearing  and  unfeared ; 
Then,  if  ye  can,  O  then  forget 
To  whom  ye  owe  the  sacred  debt  — 

The  Pilgrim  race  revered  ! 
The  men  who  set  faith's  burning  lights 
Upon  these  everlasting  heights. 
To  guide  their  children  through  the  years  of  time 
The  men  that  glorious  law  who  taught, 
Unshrinking  liberty  of  thought. 
And  roused  the  nations  with  the  truth  sublime. 

XXV. 

Forget  ?  no,  never  —  ne'er  shall  die, 
Those  names  to  memory  dear  ; 

I  read  the  promise  in  each  eye 
That  beams  upon  me  here. 
Descendants  of  a  twice-recorded  race,  > 

Long  may  ye  here  yom'  lofty  lineage  grace  ; 

'Tis  not  for  you  home's  tender  tie 

To  rend,  and  brave  the  waste  of  waves  ; 

'  T  is  not  for  you  to  rouse  and  die, 

Or  yield  and  live  a  line  of  slaves  ; 
The  deeds  of  danger  and  of  death  are  done  : 

Upheld  by  inward  power  alone, 

Unhonored  by  the  world's  loud  tongue, 
'Tis  yours  to  do  unknown. 
And  then  to  die  unsung. 
To  other  days,  to  other  men  belong 
The  penman's  plaudit  and  the  poet's  song ; 

Enough  for  glory  has  been  ^vrought, 

By  you  be  humbler  praises  sought ; 

In  peace  and  truth  life's  journey  run. 
And  keep  unsullied  what  your  Fathers  won. 


370  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 


XXVI. 

Take  then  my  prayer,  Ye  dwellers  of  this  spot  - 
Be  yours  a  noiseless  and  a  guiltless  lot. 
I  plead  not  that  ye  bask 
In  the  rank  beams  of  vulgar  fame  ; 

To  Kght  your  steps  I  ask 
A  purer  and  a  holier  flame. 
No  bloated  growth  I  supplicate  for  you, 
No  pining  multitude,  no  pampered  few  ; 
'Tis  not  alone  to  coffer  gold. 
Nor  spreading  borders  to  behold  ; 
'T  is  not  fast-swelling  crowds  to  win. 
The  refuse-ranks  of  want  and  sin  — 
This  be  the  kind  decree  : 
Be  ye  by  goodness  crowned, 
Revered,  though  not  renowned ; 
Poor,  if  Heaven  will,  but  Free  ! 
Free  from  the  tyrants  of  the  hour, 
The  clans  of  wealth,  the  clans  of  power, 
The  coarse,  cold  scorners  of  then'  God  ; 

Free  from  the  taint  of  sin. 

The  leprosy  that  feeds  within. 

And  free,  in  mercy,  from  the  bigot's  rod. 

xxvn. 

The  sceptre's  might,  the  crosier's  pride, 

Ye  do  not  fear  ; 
No  conquest  blade,  in  life-blood  dyed, 

Drops  terror  here  — 
Let  there  not  lurk  a  subtler  snare, 
For  wisdom's  footsteps  to  beware ; 
The  shaclde  and  the  stake, 

Om-  Fathers  fled ; 
Ne'er  may  then*  children  wake 
A  fouler  wrath,  a  deeper  dread  ; 
Ne'er  may  the  craft  that  fears  the  flesh  to  bind, 
Lock  its  hard  fetters  on  the  mind  ; 
Quenched  be  the  fiercer  flame 
That  kindles  with  a  name  : 


CITY  GOVERNMENT.  371 

The  pilgrim's  faith,  the  pilgrim's  zeal, 
Let  more  than  pilgrim  kindness  seal ; 
Be  purity  of  life  the  test, 
Leave  to  the  heart,  to  Heaven,  the  rest. 

xxvin. 

So,  when  our  children  turn  the  page, 
To  ask  what  triumphs  marked  our  age. 
What  we  achieved  to  challenge  praise, 
Through  the  long  line  of  future  days, 
This  let  them  read,  and  hence  instruction  draw  : 
"  Here  were  the  Many  blessed, 
"  Here  found  the  virtues  rest, 
"  Faith  linked  with  love  and  liberty  with  law ; 
"  Here  industry  to  comfort  led, 
"  Her  book  of  light  here  learning  spread  ; 

"  Here  the  warm  heart  of  youth 
"  Was  wooed  to  temperance  and  to  truth  ; 

"  Here  hoary  age  was  found, 
"  By  wisdom  and  by  reverence  crowned. 
"  No  great,  but  guilty  fame 
"  Here  kindled  pride,  that  should  have  kindled  shame ; 
"  These  chose  the  better,  happier  part, 
"  That  poured  its  sunlight  o'er  the  heart ; 
"  That  crowned  their  homes  with  peace  and  health,  < 
"  And  weighed  Heaven's  smile  beyond  earth's  wealth ; 
"  Far  from  the  thorny  paths  of  strife 
"  They  stood,  a  living  lesson  to  their  race, 

"  Rich  in  the  charities  of  life, 
"  Man  in  his  strength,  and  Woman  in  her  grace  ; 
In»purity  and  love  their  pilgrim  road  they  trod, 
And  when  they  served  their  neighbor  felt  they  served  their 
God." 

XXIX 

This  may  not  wake  the  poet's  verse, 
This  souls  of  fire  may  ne'er  rehearse 

In  crowd  delighting  voice ; 
Yet  o'er  the  record  shall  the  patriot  bend, 
His  quiet  praise  the  moralist  shall  lend, 

And  all  the  good  rejoice. 


372  MUNICIPAL  HISTORY. 

XXX. 

This  be  our  story  then,  in  that  far  day, 
"When  others  come  their  kindred  debt  to  pay : 
In  that  far  day  ?  —  O  what  shall  be, 
In  this  dominion  of  the  free, 
When  we  and  ours  have  rendered  up  our  trust, 
And  men  unborn  shall  tread  above  our  dust  ? 
O  what  shall  be  ?  —  He,  He  alone. 

The  dread  response  can  make. 
Who  sitteth  on  the  only  throne, 
That  time  shall  never  shake  ; 
Before  whose  all-beholding  eyes 
Ages  sweep  on,  and  empires  sink  and  rise. 
Then  let  the  song  to  Him  begun. 

To  Him  in  reverence  end  : 
Look  down  in  love.  Eternal  One, 

And  Thy  good  cause  defend  ; 
Here,  late  and  long,  put  forth  thy  hand, 
To  guard  and  guide  the  Pilgrim's  land. 


APPENDIX. 


(A.     Page  43.) 

THE   mayor's   inaugural   ADDRESS,   MAY,    1822. 

Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council :  — 

The  experience  of  nearly  two  centuries  has  borne  ample  testimony  to  the 
"wisdom  of  those  institutions  which  our  ancestors  established  for  the  manage- 
ment of  their  municipal  concerns.  Most  of  the  towns  in  this  Comjnonwealth 
may,  probably,  continue  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  those  salutary  regulations 
for  an  unlimited  series  of  years.  But  the  great  increase  of  population  in  the 
town  of  Boston  has  made  it  necessary  for  the  Legislature  frequently  to  enact 
statutes  of  local  application,  to  enable  the  inhabitants  successfully  to  conduct 
their  affairs ;  and  at  the  last  session,  with  a  promptness  which  claims  our 
gratitude,  on  the  application  of  the  town,  they  gi'anted  the  charter  which  invests 
it  with  the  powers  and  immunities  of  a  city.  Those  who  have  attended  to  the 
inconveniences  under  which  we  have  labored,  will  not  attribute  this  innovation 
to  an  eager  thirst  for  novelty,  or  restless  desire  of  innovation.  The  most  intel- 
Kgent  and  experienced  of  our  citizens  have  for  a  long  period  meditated  a  change, 
and  exerted  their  influence  to  effect  it.  Difference  of  opinion  must  be  expected, 
and  mutual  concessions  made,  in  all  cases  where  the  interests  of  a  large  commu- 
nity is  to  be  accommodated.  The  precise  form  in  which  the  charter  is  to  be 
presented,  may  not  be  acceptable  to  all ;  but  its  provisions  have  met  with  the 
approbation  of  a  large  majority,  and  it  will  receive  the  support  of  every  good 
citizen. 

Mr.  Chairman,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen  :  — 

The  members  of  the  City  Council  acknowledge  their  obligations  to  you,  for  the 
attention  and  care  which  you  have  bestowed  in  all  the  arrangements  for  their 
accommodation.  They  tender  their  thanks  for  the  friendly  and  respectful  senti- 
ments expressed  in  the  address  which  accompanied  the  delivery  of  the  ancient 
act  of  incorporation  of  the  town,  and  the  recent  charter  of  the  city. 

During  the  short  period  which  has  elapsed  since  I  was  elected  to  the  office, 
the  duties  of  which  I  have  now  solemnly  undertaken  to  discharge  to  the  best  of 
my  ability,  I  have  devoted  such  portion  of  my  time  as  I  could  command  to  exa- 
mine the  records  of  your  proceedings,  with  the  able  assistance  which  your  Chair- 
32 


374  APPENDIX. 

man  most  readily  afforded  me ;  and  tliey  furnisli  full  evidence  of  tlie  ability, 
diligence,  and  integrity  of  those  wlio  have  been  justly  denominated  the  Fathers 
of  the  town.    • 

Gentlemen,  you  will  now  be  relieved  from  labors,  the  weight  of  which  can 
only  be  duly  estimated  by  those  excellent  citizens  who  have  preceded  you  in 
office.  You  retii-e  with  the  consciousness  of  important  duties  faithfully  and 
honorably  discharged.  Our  best  wishes  attend  you,  whether  engaged  in  public 
employments  or  in  private  pursuits.  May  you  be  useful  and  prosperous,  and 
long  continue  your  exertions  to  advance  the  interest  and  honor  of  our  city. 

Those  who  encourage  hopes  that  can  never  be  realized,  and  those  who  indulge 
unreasonable  apprehensions  because  this  instrument  is  not  framed  agreeably  to 
their  wishes,  wiU  be  benefited  by  reflecting,  how  much  more  our  social -happiness 
depends  ujjon  other  causes  than  the  provisions  of  a  charter.  Purity  of  manners, 
general  diffusion  of  knowledge,  and  strict  attention  to  the  education  of  the  young, 
above  aU  a  fiim,  practical  belief  of  that  Divine  revelation  which  has  affixed  the 
penalty  of  unceasing  anguish  to  vice,  and  promised  to  virtue  rewards  of  inter- 
minable duration,  will  counteract  the  evils  of  any  form  of  government.  While  the 
love  of  order,  benevolent  affections,  and  Christian  piety  distinguish,  as  they  have 
done,  the  inhabitants  of  this  city,  they  may  enjoy  the  highest  Jblessings  under 
a  charter  with  so  few  imperfections  as  that  which  the  wisdom  of  our  Legislatui'e 
has  sanctioned. 

To  enter  upon  the  administration  of  this  government  by  the  invitation  of  our 
fellow-citizens,  we  are  this  day  assembled.  When  I  look  around  and  observe 
gentlemen  of  the  highest  standing  and  most  active  employments,  devoting  their 
talents  and  experience  to  assist  in  the  commencement  of  this  arduous  business, 
in  common  with  my  feUow-citizens,  I  appreciate  most  highly  their  elevated  and 
patriotic  motives.  I  well  know,  Gentlemen,  the  great  sacrifice  of  time,  of  care, 
and  of  emolument,  which  you  make  in  assuming  this  burden.  It  shall  be  my 
constant  study  to  hghten  it  by  every  means  in  my  power.  In  my  official  inter- 
course, I  shall  not  encumber  you  with  unnecessary  forms,  or  encroach  on  your 
time  with  prolix  dissertations.  In  all  the  communications  which  the  charter 
requires  me  to  make,  conciseness  and  brevity  wIU  be  carefully  studied.  I  will 
detain  you  no  longer  from  the  discharge  of  the  important  duties  which  now 
devolve  upon  you,  than  to  invite  you  to  unite  in  beseeching  the  Father  of  Light, 
without  whose  blessing  aU  exertion  is  fruitless,  and  whose  grace  alone  can  give 
efficacy  to  the  councils  of  human  wisdom,  to  enlighten  and  guide  our  delibera- 
tions with  the  influence  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  and  then  we  cannot  fail  to  pi'omote 
the  best  interests  of  our  fellow-citizens. 


APPENDIX.  375 

(B.    Page  59.) 

THE   mayor's   inaugural   ADDRESS,   MAT,   1823. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Common  Council :  — 

In  accepting  the  office,  to  wbicli  the  suffrages  of  my  fellow-citizens  have 
called  me,  I  have  not  concealed  from  myself  the  labors  and  responsibilities  of  the 
station.  Comparing  my  own  powers  with  the  nature  and  exigencies  of  the  pre- 
sent relations  of  the  city,  I  should  have  shrunk  instinctively  from  the  task,  did 
I  not  derive,  from  the  intelligence  and  virtues  of  my  feUow-citizens,  a  confidence 
which  no  qualifications  of  my  own  are  capable  of  inspiring. 

In  entering  upon  the  duties  of  this  office,  and  after  examining  and  considering 
the  records  of  the  proceedings  of  the  city  authorities  the  past  year,  it  is  impos- 
sible for  me  to  refrain  from  expressing  the  sense  I  entertain  of  the  services  of 
that  high  and  honorable  individual  who  filled  the  Chair  of  this  city,  as  well  as 
of  the  Avise,  prudent,  and  faitliful  citizens,  who  composed,  during  that  period,  the 
City  Council.  Their  labors  have  been,  indeed,  in  a  measure,  unobtrusive  ;  but 
they  have  been  various,  useful,  and  well  considered.  They  have  laid  the  found- 
ations of  the  prosperity  of  our  city  deep,  and  on  right  principles  ;  and,  whatever 
success  may  attend  those  who  come  after  them,  they  "will  be  largely  indebted  for 
it  to  the  Avisdom  and  fideUty  of  their  predecessors.  A  task  was  conmiitted  to  the 
first  administration  to  perform,  in  no  common  degree  arduous  and  delicate.  The 
change  from  a  town  to  a  city  had  not  been  effected  without  a  considerable  oppo- 
sition. On  that  subject  many  fears  existed,  which  it  was  difficult  to  allay  ;  many 
jealousies,  hard  to  overcome.  In  the  outset  of  a  new  form  of  government, 
among  variously  affected  passions  and  interests,  and  among  indistinct  expecta- 
tions impossible  to  realize,  it  was  apparently  wise  to  shape  the  course  of  the  first 
administration,  rather  by  the  spirit  of  the  long-experienced  constitution  of  the 
town,  than  by  that  of  the  unsettled  charter  of  the  city.  It  was  natural  for  pru- 
dent men,  first  intrusted  with  city  authorities,  to  apprehend  that  measures  par- 
taking of  the  mild,  domestic  character  of  our  ancient  institutions,  might  be  as 
useful,  and  would  be  likely  to  be  more  acceptable,  than  those  which  should 
develop  the  entire  powers  of  the  new  government.  It  is  yet  to  be  proved, 
whether,  in  these  measures,  our  predecessors  were  not  right.  Li  aU  times  the 
inhabitants  of  this  metropoHs  have  been  distinguished,  preeminently,  for  a  free, 
elastic  republican  spirit.  Heaven  grant,  that  they  forever  may  be  thus  distin- 
guished !  It  is  yet  to  be  decided,  whether  such  a  spirit  can,  for  the  sake  of  the 
peace,  order,  health,  and  convenience  of  a  great  and  rapidly-increasing  popula- 
tion, endure  without  distrust  and  discontent,  the  appUcation  of  necessary  city 
powers  to  all  the  exigencies  which  arise  in  such  a  community. 

In  executing  the  trust  wliieh  my  fellow-citizens  have  confided  to  me,  I  shall 
yield  entirely  to  the  influences,  and  be  guided  exclusively  by  the  principles  of 
the  city  charter ;  striving  to  give  prudent  efficiency  to  aU  its  powers ;  endeavor- 
ino-  to  perform  all  its  duties,  in  fonns  and  modes  at  once  the  most  useful  and 
most  acceptable  to  my  fellow-citizens.  If  at  any  time,  however,  through  any 
intrinsic  incompatibility,  it  is  Impracticable  to  unite  both  these  objects,  I  shall,  lu 


376  APPENDIX. 

sucli  case,  follow  duty  ;  and  leave  the  event  to  the  decision  of  a  just,  and  ■wise, 
and  generous  people.  In  every  exigency,  it  will  be  my  endeavor  to  imbibe  and 
to  exhibit,  in  purpose  and  act,  the  spirit  of  the  city  charter. 

What  that  spirit  is,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  office  of  Mayor ;  what  duties  it 
enjoins ;  and  by  what  principles  those  duties  will,  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing 
administration,  be  attempted  to  be  performed,  it  is  suitable  to  the  occasion,  and 
I  shall  now,  very  briefly,  explain. 

The  spirit  of  the  city  charter,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  office  of  Mayor,  is  charac- 
terized by  the  powers  and  duties  it  devolves  upon  that  officer. 

By  him,  "  the  laws  of  the  city  are  to  be  executed ;  the  conduct  of  all  subordi- 
nate officers  inspected;  all  negligence,  carelessness,  and  positive  violations  of 
duty  prosecuted  and  punished."  In  addition  to  this,  he  is  enjoined  to  "  collect 
and  communicate  all  infonnation,  and  recommend  all  such  measures  as  may  tend 
to  improve  the  city  finances,  police,  health,  security,  cleanliness,  comfort,  and 
ornament." 

The  spirit  of  the  city  charter  in  this  relation  may  also  be  collected,  by  consi- 
dering these  powers  and  duties  in  connection  with  the  preceding  form  of  govern- 
ment. One  great  defect  in  the  ancient  organization  of  town  government  was, 
the  di\'ision  of  the  executive  power  among  many ;  the  consequent  little  respon- 
sibility, and  the  facility  with  which  that  little  was  shifted  from  one  department, 
board,  or  individual,  to  another ;  so  as  to  leave  the  inhabitants,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure, at  a  loss  whom  to  blame  for  the  deficiency  in  the  natiu-e  or  execution  of  the 
provisions  for  their  safety  and  police.  The  duty,  also,  of  general  superintend- 
ence over  all  the  boards  and  public  institutions,  being  specifically  vested  no- 
where, no  individual  member  of  either  of  them  could  take  upon  himself  that 
office,  without  being  obnoxious  to  the  charge  of  a  busy,  meddlesome  disposition. 
The  consequence  was,  that  the  great  duty  of  considering  all  the  public  institu- 
tions, in  their  relations  to  one  another  and  to  the  public  service,  was  either 
necessarily  neglected,  or,  if  performed  at  all,  could  only  be  executed  occasion- 
ally, and  in  a  very  general  manner. 

The  remedy  attempted  by  the  city  charter  is,  to  provide  for  the  fulfilment  of 
all  these  duties,  by  specifically  investing  the  chief  officer  of  the  city  with  the 
necessary  powers ;  and  thus  to  render  him  responsible,  both  in  character  and 
by  station,  for  their  efficient  exercise.  By  placing  this  officer  under  the  constant 
control  of  both  branches  of  the  City  Council,  all  errors,  in  judgment  and  pur- 
pose, were  intended  to  be  checked  or  corrected ;  and,  by  his  annual  election, 
security  is  attained  against  insufficiency  or  abuse,  in  the  exercise  of  his  authority. 

The  duties,  enjoined  by  the  charter  on  the  executive  authority,  are  concurrent 
with  its  powers  and  comcident  with  its  spirit.  If,  in  making  a  sketch  of  them, 
I  shall  be  thought  to  present  an  outline,  difficult  for  any  man  completely  to  fill, 
and  absolutely  unpracticable  for  the  individual  who  now  occupies  the  station,  let 
it  be  remembered,  that  it  is  always  wise  in  man  to  work  after  models  more  per- 
fect than  his  capacity  can  execute.  Perfect  duty,  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  man 
to  perform.  But  it  is  the  right  of  the  people,  that  every  man  in  public  office 
should  know  and  attempt  it.  Let  it  also  be  considered,  that  it  will  be  advanta- 
geous, both  for  the  individual  who  may  hold,  and  for  the  people  who  judge  and 
select,  that  both  should  fonn  elevated  conceptions  of  the  nature  of  the  station. 
The  one  will  be  thus  more  likely  to  aim  at  something  higher  than  mediocrity,  in 


APPENDIX.  377 

execution ;  and  the  other,  forming  just  notions  of  its  difficulty,  delicacy,  and 
importance,  will  select  with  discrimination,  and  receive  more  readily  faithful  and 
laborious  endeavor  in  lieu  of  perfect  performance. 

The  great  duty  of  the  Mayor  of  such  a  city  as  this,  is  to  identify  himself,  abso- 
lutelj'  and  exclusively,  with  its  character  and  interests.  All  its  important  rela- 
tions he  should  diUgently  study,  and  strive  thoroughly  to  understand.  All  its 
rights,  whether  affecting  jirojierty,  or  liberty,  or  power,  it  is  his  duty,  as  occa- 
sions occur,  to  analyze  and  maintain.  If  possible,  he  should  leave  no  founda- 
tions of  either  unsettled  or  dubious.  Towards  them,  he  should  teach  himself  to 
feel,  not  merely  the  zeal  of  official  station,  but  the  pertinacious  spirit  of  private 
interest. 

Of  local,  sectional,  party,  or  personal  divisions,  he  should  know  nothing, 
except  for  the  purpose  of  healing  the  wounds  they  inflict ;  softening  the  anuno- 
sities  they  engender ;  and  exciting,  by  his  example  and  influence,  bands,  hostile 
to  one  another  in  every  other  respect,  to  march  one  way,  when  the  interests  of 
the  city  are  in  danger.  Its  honor,  happiness,  dignity,  safety,  and  prosperity,  the 
development  of  Its  resoui'ces.  Its  expenditures  and  police,  should  be  the  perpetual 
object  of  his  purpose  and  labor  of  his  thought.  All  Its  public  institutions,  its 
edifices,  hospitals,  almshouses,  jails,  should  be  made  the  subject  of  his  frequent  in- 
spection, to  the  end  that  wants  may  be  supplied,  errors  corrected,  abuses  exposed. 

Above  all,  Its  schools,  those  choice  depositaries  of  the  hope  of  a  free  people, 
should  engage  his  utmost  solicitude  and  unremitting  superintendence.  Justly 
are  these  institutions  the  pride  and  the  boast  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  city.  For 
these,  Boston  has,  at  all  times,  stood  preeminent.  Let  there  exist,  elsewhere, 
a  greater  population,  a  richer  commerce,  wider  streets,  more  splendid  ave- 
nues, statelier  palaces.  Be  it  the  endeavor  of  tliis  metropolis  to  educate  better 
men,  happier  citizens,  more  enlightened  statesmen ;  to  elevate  a  people,  tho- 
roughly instructed  in  their  social  rights,  deeply  imbued  with  a  sense  of  their 
moral  duties  ;  mild,  flexible  to  every  breath  of  legitimate  authority  ;  unyielding 
as  fate  to  unconstitutional  impositions.  , 

In  administering  the  police,  in  executing  the  laws,  in  protecting  the  rights, 
and  promoting  the  prosperity  of  the  city,  its  first  officer  will  be  necessarily  beset 
and  assailed  by  individual  interests,  by  rival  projects,  by  personal  influences, 
by  party  passions.  The  more  firm  and  inflexible  he  is,  in  maintaining  the 
rights,  and  in  pursuing  the  interests  of  the  city,  the  greater  is  the  probabiUty 
of  lus  becoming  obnoxious  to  all,  whom  he  causes  to  be  prosecuted,  or  punished ; 
to  all,  whose  passions  he  thwarts ;  to  all,  whose  interests  he  opposes.  It  wiU 
remain  for  the  citizens  to  decide,  whether  he  who  shall  attempt  to  fulfil  these 
duties,  and  thus  to  uphold  their  Interests,  in  a  firm,  honest,  and  impartial  sjilrlt, 
shall  find  countenance  and  supj)ort,  in  the  InteUIgence  and  virtue  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Touching  the  principles,  by  which  the  ensuing  administration  will  endeavor  to 
regulate  and  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  city,  nothing  is  promised,  except  a  labo- 
rious fulfihnent  of  every  known  duty ;  a  prudent  exercise  of  eveiy  invested 
power  ;  and  a  disposition,  shrinking  from  no  official  responsibility.  The  outline 
of  the  duties,  just  sketched,  will  be  placed  before  the  executive  officer,  without 
any  expectation  of  approximating  towards  its  extent,  much  less  of  filling  It  up, 
accoi'ding  to  that  enlarged  conception.  By  making,  in  the  constitution  of  oiu* 
32* 


378  APPENDIX. 

nature,  tlie  power  to  purpose  greater  than  the  power  to  perform,  Providence  has 
indicated  to  man,  that  true  duty  and  wisdom  consists  in  combining  high  efforts 
with  humble  expectations. 

If  the  powers  vested  seem  too  great  for  any  individual,  let  it  be  remembered, 
that  they  are  necessary  to  attain  the  great  objects  of  health,  comfort,  and  safety 
to  the  city.  To  those  whose  fortunes  are  restricted,  these  powers,  in  their  just 
exercise,  ought  to  be  peculiarly  precious.  The  rich  can  fly  from  the  generated 
pestilence.  In  the  season  of  danger,  the  sons  of  fortune  can  seek  refuge  in 
purer  atmospheres.  But  necessity  condemns  the  poor  to  remain  and  inhale  the 
noxious  effluvia.  To  all  classes  who  reside  permanently  in  a  city,  these  powers 
are  a  privilege  and  a  blessing.  In  relation  to  city  police,  it  is  not  sufficient 
that  the  law,  in  its  due  process,  will  ultimately  remedy  every  injury,  and  remove 
every  nuisance.  While  the  law  delays,  the  injury  is  done.  While  judges  are 
doubting,  and  lawyers  debating,  the  nuisance  is  exhaling  and  the  atmosphere 
corrupting.  In  these  cases,  prevention  should  be  the  object  of  solicitude,  not 
remedy.  It  is  not  enough,  that  the  obstacle  which  impedes  the  citizen's  way,  or 
the  nuisance  which  offends  his  sense  should  be  removed  on  complaint,  or  by 
complaint.  The  true  criterion  of  an  efficient  city  government  is,  that  it  should 
be  removed  before  complaint  and  without  complaint. 

The  true  glory  of  a  city  consists,  not  in  palaces,  temples,  columns,  the  vain 
boast  of  art,  or  the  proud  magnificence  of  luxury,  but  in  a  happy,  secure,  and 
contented  people  ;  feeling  the  advantage  of  a  vigorous  and  faithful  administra- 
tion, not  merely  in  the  wide  street  and  splendid  avenue,  but  in  every  lane,  in 
every  court,  and  in  every  alley.  The  poorest  and  humblest  citizen  should  be 
made  instinctively  to  bless  that  paternal  government,  which  he  daily  perceives 
watching  over  his  comfort  and  convenience,  and  securing  for  him  that  surest 
pledge  of  health,  a  pure  atmosjjhere. 

The  individual,  now  intrusted  with  the  executive  power  by  his  fellow-citizens, 
repeats,  that  he  promises  nothing,  except  an  absolute  self-devotion  to  their 
interests.  To  understand,  maintain,  and  improve  them,  he  dedicates  whatever 
humble  intellectual  or  physical  power  he  may  possess. 

Gentlemen  of  tlie  City  Council :  — 

In  all  the  relations  which  the  constitution  has  established  between  the  depart- 
ments, it  will  be  his  endeavor,  by  punctuality  and  despatch  in  public  business, 
by  executing  every  duty  and  taking  every  responsibility  which  belongs  to  his 
office,  to  shorten  and  lighten  your  disinterested  and  patriotic  labors.  Should 
his  and  your  faithful,  though  necessarily  imperfect  exertions,  give  satisfaction  to 
oiir  fellow-citizens,  we  shall  have  reason  to  rejoice,  —  not  with  a  private  and 
personal,  but  with  a  public  and  patriotic  joy ;  for  next  to  the  consciousness  of 
fulfilled  duty,  is  the  grateful  conviction,  that  our  lot  is  cast  in  a  community, 
ready  justly  to  appreciate,  and  willing  actively  to  support,  faithful  and  laborious 
-efforts  in  their  service. 

Should,  however,  the  contrary  happen,  and,  in  conformity  with  the  experience 
of  other  republics,  faithful  exertions  be  followed  by  loss  of  favor  and  confidence, 
still  he  will  have  reason  to  rejoice,  —  not,  indeed,  with  a  pubHc  and  patriotic, 
but  with  a  private  and  individual  joy,  —  for  he  will  retire  Avith  a  consciousness, 
weighed  against  which,  all  human  suffrages  are  but  as  the  light  dust  of  the  balance. 


APPENDIX.  379 

(C.    Page  121.) 

THE    mayor's    IXArOURAL    ADDRESS,    MAY,    1824. 

Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council :  — 

The  first  impulse  of  my  heart,  on  thus  entering  a  second  time  upon  the  duties 
of  chief  magistrate  of  this  city,  is  to  express  my  deep  sense  of  gratitude  for  the 
distinguished  support  I  have  received  fi'om  the  suffrages  of  my  fellow-citizens. 
It  has  been,  I  am  conscious,  as  much  beyond  my  deserts,  as  beyond  my  hopes. 
May  these  marks  of  public  confidence  produce  their  genuine  fruits,  timer  zeal, 
greater  activity,  and  more  entire  self-devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  cit}' ! 

To  you,  gentlemen  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  who  have  received  such  grati^'- 
ing  proofs  of  the  approbation  of  your  fellow-citizens,  permit  me  thus  pubUcly  to 
express  the  greatness  of  my  own  obUgations.  You  have  shunned  no  labor.  You 
have  evaded  no  responsibility".  You  have  sought,  with  a  single  eye,  and  a  firm, 
undeviating  piu-pose,  the  best  interests  of  the  cit)-.  It  is  my  honor  and  happi- 
ness to  have  been  associated  with  such  men.  TVliatsoever  success  has  attended 
the  administration  of  the  past  year,  may  justly  be  attributed  to  the  spirit  and 
intelligence  which  characterized  yoiu"  laboi*s  and  councils. 

The  gentlemen  of  the  last  Common  Council  are  also  entitled  to  a  pubhc 
expression  of  my  gratitude,  for  theu*  undeviating  pei-sonal  support,  as  well  as  the 
zeal  and  fidelity  which  distinguished  their  pubHc  services. 

It  is  proper,  on  the  present  occasion,  to  speak  of  the  administration  of  the  past 
year,  with  reference  to  the  principles  by  which  it  was  actuated.  If,  in  doing 
this,  I  enter  more  into  detail  than  may  seem  suitable  in  a  general  discom"se,  it  is 
because  I  deem  such  an  elucidation  confoiinable  to  the  nature  of  the  citj-  govern- 
ment, and  connected  with  its  success.  Whatever  there  is  peculiar  in  the  charac- 
ter of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston,  is  chiefly  owing  to  the  freedom  of  its  ancient 
form  of  government,  which  had  planted  and  fostered  among  its  people  a  keen, 
active,  inquisitive  spirit ;  taking  an  interest  in  all  public  affairs,  and  exacting  a 
strict  and  frequent  account  from  all  who  have  the  charge  of  their  concerns. 
This  is  a  healthy  condition  of  a  community,  be  it  a  city,  state,  or  nation.  It  indi- 
cates the  existence  of  the  only  true  foundation  of  public  prosperity-,  the  intelli- 
gence and  vii'tue  of  the  people,  and  their  consequent  capacity-  to  govern  them- 
selves. Such  a  people  have  a  right  to  expect  a  jjarticular  elucidation  of  conduct 
fi'om  public  functionaries  ;  whose  incumbent  duty  it  is  to  foster,  on  all  occasions. 
amon<T  their  fellow-citizens,  a  faithful  and  inquisitive  spirit  touching  pubhc  con- 
cerns. 

The  acts  of  the  administration  of  the  past  year  had  reference  to  morals,  to 
comfort,  and  convenience  and  ornament.  Avery  brief  statement  of  the  chief  of 
these,  which  had  any  thing  novel  in  their  character,  will  be  made  with  reference 
to  principle  and  to  expense.  If  more  prominence  be  given  to  this  last  than  may 
be  thought  necessary,  it  is  because  in  relation  to  this,  discontent  is  most  likely  to 
appear.  In  the  organizing  of  new  systems,  and  in  the  early  stages  of  beneficial 
and  even  economical  ai'rangements  outlays  must  occur.  These  expenditures  are 
inseparable  from  the  first  years.     The  resulting  benefit  must  be  expected  and 


380  APPENDIX. 

averaged  among  many  future  years.  No  obscurity  ought  to  be  permitted,  con- 
cerning conduct  and  views  in  this  respect.  In  a  republic,  the  strength  of  every 
administration,  in  public  opinion,  ought  to  be  in  proportion  to  the  willingness 
with  which  it  submits  to  a  rigorous  accountabihty.  With  respect  to  morals,  there 
existed  at  the  commencement  of  last  year,  in  one  section  of  the  city,  an  auda- 
cious obtrasiveness  of  vice,  notorious  and  lamentable ;  setting  at  defiance,  not 
only  the  decencies  of  life,  but  the  authority  of  the  laws.  Repeated  attempts  to 
subdue  this  combination  had  failed.  An  opinion  was  entertained  by  some  that  it 
was  invincible.  There  were  those  who  recomniended  a  tampering  and  palliative, 
rather  than  eradicating  course  of  measures.  Those  intrusted  with  the  affairs  of 
the  city  were  of  a  different  temper.  The  evil  was  met  in  the  face.  In  spite  of 
clamor,  of  threat,  of  insult,  of  the  certificates  of  those  who  were  interested  to 
maintain,  or  willing  to  countenance  vice,  in  this  quarter,  a  determined  course 
was  pursued.  The  whole  section  was  put  under  the  ban  of  authority.  All 
licenses  in  it  were  denied ;  a  vigorous  police  was  organized,  which,  aided  by  the 
courts  of  justice  and  the  House  of  Correction,  effected  its  purpose.  For  three 
months  j)ast,  the  daily  reports  of  our  city  officers  have  represented  that  section 
as  peaceable  as  any  other.  Those  connected  with  courts  of  justice,  both  as 
ministers  and  officers,  assert  that  the  effect  has  been  plainly  discernible  in  the 
registers  of  the  jail  and  of  prosecution. 

These  measures  did  not  originate  in  any  theories  or  visions  of  ideal  purity, 
attainable  In  the  existing  state  of  human  society,  but  in  a  single  sense  of  duty 
and  respect  for  the  character  of  the  city ;  proceeding  upon  the  principle,  that  if 
in  great  cities  the  existence  of  vice  is  inevitable,  that  its  course  should  be  in 
secret,  like  other  filth,  in  drains  and  in  darkness ;  not  obtrusive,  not  powerful, 
not  prowling  publicly  in  the  streets  for  the  innocent  and  unwary. 

The  expense  by  which  this  effect  has  been  produced,  has  been  somewhat  less 
than  one  thousand  dollars.  An  amount  already  perhaps  saved  to  the  community 
in  the  diminution  of  those  prosecutions  and  of  their  costs,  which  the  continuance 
of  the  former  unobstructed  course  of  predominating  A'Ice  in  that  section  would 
have  occasioned. 

The  next  object  of  attention  of  the  city  government  was  cleansing  the  streets. 
In  cities,  as  well  as  among  Individuals,  cleanliness  has  reference  to  morals  as  well 
as  to  comfort.  Sense  of  dignity  and  self-respect  are  essentially  connected  with 
purity,  physical  and  moral.  And  a  city  is  as  much  elevated  as  an  individual  by 
self-respect. 

To  remove  from  our  streets  whatever  might  offend  the  sense  or  endanger  the 
health,  was  the  first  duty.  To  do  it  as  economically  as  was  consistent  with  doing 
it  well,  was  the  second. 

How  it  has  been  done,  whether  satisfactorily  as  could  be  expected  In  the  first 
year,  and  by  incipient  operations,  our  fellow-citizens  are  the  judges.  As  far  as 
the  knowledge  of  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  has  extended,  the  course  pursued 
bas  met  with  unqualified  approbation,  and  given  entire  content. 

In  respect  to  economy,  there  were  but  two  modes,  —  by  contract,  or  by  teams 
and  laborers  provided  and  employed  by  the  city.  The  latter  course  was 
adopted  ;  and  for  several  reasons.  The  value  of  what  was  annually  taken  from 
the  surface  of  the  streets  of  the  city,  as  well  as  the  quantity,  was  wholly  unknown. 
There  were  no  data  on  wliich  to  estimate  either,  and  of  course  no  measure  bv 


APPENDIX.  381 

wUcli  the  amount  of  contract  could  be  regulated.  The  streets  of  the  city  had 
been  almost  from  tune  immemorial  the  revenue  of  the  farmers  in  the  vicinity,  who 
came  at  will,  took  what  suited  their  purposes,  and  left  the  rest  to  accumulate. 

It  was  thought  important  that  the  city  should  undertake  the  operation  neces- 
sary to  cleansing  the  streets  itself,  not  because  this  mode  was  certainly  the  most 
economical,  but  because  it  would  be  certainly  the  most  effectual ;  and  be(;ause, 
by  this  means,  the  city  government  would  acquaint  themselves  with  the  subject 
in  detail,  and  be  the  better  enabknl  to  meet  the  farmers  hereafter  on  the  ground 
of  contract,  should  this  mode  be  found  expedient. 

In  order,  however,  to  leave  no  means  of  information  unsought,  contracts  were 
publicly  invited  by  the  city  government.  Of  the  proposals  made,  one  only 
included  all  the  operations  of  scraping,  sweeping,  and  carrying  away.  Tliis  per- 
son offered  to  do  the  whole  for  one  year  for  seven  thousand  dollars.  All  the  other 
proposals  expressly  dechned  having  any  thing  to  do  with  scraping  and  sweep- 
ing, and  confined  their  offer  to  the  mere  canying  away.  The  lowest  of  these 
was  eighteen  hundred  dollars.  When  it  was  found  that  the  city  was  about  to  per- 
form the  operation  on  its  own  account,  the  same  persons  fell  in  their  offers  from 
eighteen  to  eight  hundred  dollars  ;  and  when  this  was  rejected,  they  offered  to  do 
it  for  nothing.  And  since  the  city  operations  have  commenced,  the  inquiiy  now 
is,  at  u'hafjyrice  they  can  enjoy  the  privilege.  These  facts  are  stated,  because  they 
strikingly  illustrate  how  important  it  is  to  the  city  that  its  administration  should 
take  subjects  of  this  kind  into  their  own  hands,  until  by  experience  they  shall 
have  so  become  acquainted  with  them  as  to  render  their  ultimate  measures  the 
result  of  knowledge,  and  not  of  general  surmise  or  opinion. 

The  general  result  of  the  operations  may  be  thus  stated.  At  an  expense  of 
about  four  thousand  dollars,  between  sLx  and  seven  thousand  tons  weight  of  filth 
and  dirt  have  been  removed  from  the  surface  of  the  streets.  All  of  which  have 
been  advantageously  used  in  Improving  the  city  property,  under  circumstances 
and  In  situations  In  which  these  collections  were  much  wanted,  —  on  the  Com- 
mon, on  the  Neck  lands,  and  at  South  Boston.  There  can  be  no  question,  tl>at, 
in  these  improvements,  the  city  will  receive  the  full  value  of  the  whole  expense ; 
to  say  nothing  of  what  is  really  the  chief  object  of  the  system,  that  the  streets 
have  been  kept  In  a  general  state  of  cleanliness  satisfactory  to  the  Inhabitants. 
By  sale  of  the  collections  the  next  year,  it  Is  expected  that  we  shall  be  able  to 
compare  directly  the  cash  receipt  with  the  cash  expenditure. 

The  widening  of  our  streets,  as  occasions  offered,  was  the  next  object  to  which 
the  attention  of  the  city  administration  was  directed,  and  the  one  invohdng  the 
greatest  expense.  The  circvunstances  of  the  times,  and  the  enterprise  of  private 
individuals,  opened  opportunities,  in  this  respect,  unexampled  In  point  of  number 
and  importance.  If  lost,  they  might  never  occur  again,  at  least  not  within  the 
lifetime  of  the  youngest  of  our  children.  The  administration  availed  themselves 
of  those  opportunities,  as  a  matter  of  duty.  In  the  actual  condition  of  a  city  so 
extremely  Irregular  and  Inconvenient  as  Is  Boston  in  the  original  plan  and  pro- 
jection of  its  streets.  Imjjortant  improvements  have  been  made  In  Lynn,  Ship, 
Thacher,  and  ]Mill  Pond  Streets ;  in  Hanover,  Elm,  Brattle,  Court,  and  Union 
Streets ;  In  Temple,  Lynde,  Sumner,  and  Milk  Streets ;  in  Federal,  Orange, 
Eliot,  and  Warren  Streets.  The  expense  has  been  somewhat  less  than  twelve 
thousand  dollars.     A  considerable  cost  in  comparison  with  the  extent  of  the  land 


382  APPENDIX 

taken  ;  but  reasonable,  and  not  more  than  miglit  be  expected,  when  considered 
with  reference  to  the  nature  of  the  improvements,  for  the  most  part  in  thick-set- 
tled parts  of  the  city,  where  the  land  taken  was  very  valuable,  and  the  improve- 
ment proportionably  important. 

Another  object  of  attention  during  the  past  year  has  been  the  drains.  The 
ancient  system,  by  which  these  were  placed  on  the  footing  of  private  right,  was 
expensive  and  troublesome  to  individuals,  involving  proprietors  in  jserpetual  dis- 
putes with  those  making  new  entries,  and  was  partictdarly  objectionable,  as  it 
respects  the  city,  as  that  in  a  degree  it  made  our  streets  the  subjects  of  private 
right,  and  as  such  placed  them  out  of  the  control  of  the  city  authorities. 

The  principle  adopted  was,  to  take  all  new  drains  into  the  hands  of  the  city; 
to  divide  the  expense  as  equally  as  possible  among  those  estates  immediately 
benefited,  upon  principles  applicable  to  the  particular  nature  of  this  subject,  and 
retain  in  the  city  the  whole  property,  both  as  It  respects  control  and  assessment. 
In  Its  first  stages,  such  a  system  must  necessarily  be  expensive ;  but  the  result 
cannot  fail  to  be  beneficial,  and,  in  a  course  of  years,  profitable.  During  the 
past  year,  the  city  has  built  about  five  thousand  feet  of  drain,  one  thousand  feet 
of  which  Is  twenty  inch  barrel  drain  ;  of  this  the  city  is  now  sole  proprietor.  It 
has  already  received  more  than  one  half  the  whole  cost  froia  persons  whose 
estates  were  particularly  benefited ;  and  the  balance,  amounting  to  about  four 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  is  in  a  course  of  gradual,  and,  as  it  respects  the 
far  greater  part,  certain,  ultimate  collection.  Considering  the  effect  which  well- 
constructed  drains  must  have  upon  the  city  expenditure,  In  respect  of  the  single 
article  of  paving,  there  can  be  but  one  opinion  upon  the  wisdom  and  economy 
of  this  system. 

A  new  mall  has  been  nearly  completed  on  Charles  Street,  and  all  the  missing 
and  dead  trees  of  the  old  malls,  the  Common,  and  Fort  Hill,  have  been  replaced 
with  a  care  and  protection  which  almost  Insure  success  to  these  ornaments  of  the 
city. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Directors  of  the  House  of  Industry,  and  the  flattering 
hopes  connected  with  that  estabhshment,  would  require  a  minuteness  of  detail, 
not  compatible  with  the  present  occasion.  They  wUl  doubtless  be  made  the 
subject  of  an  early  and  distinct  examination  and  report  of  the  City  Council. 

Two  objects  of  very  great  interest,  to  which  the  proceedings  of  last  year  have 
reference,  remain  to  be  elucidated.  The  purchase  of  the  Interest  of  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  ropewalks  west  of  the  Common,  and  the  projected  Improvements  about 
FaneuH  Hall  Market. 

The  citizens  of  Boston,  in  a  moment  of  s;^Tiipathy  and  feeling  for  the  sufferings 
of  particular  individuals,  and  without  sufficient  prospective  regard  for  the  future 
exigencies  of  the  city,  had  voluntarily  given  the  right  of  using  the  land  occupied 
by  the  ropewalks  to  certain  grantees  for  that  use.  In  consequence  of  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  water  by  the  ]MIll-dam,  a  tract  of  land  has  been  opened  either  for  sale, 
as  an  object  of  profit,  or  for  use,  as  an  object  of  ornament,  with  wlilch  the  rights 
of  these  proprietors  absolutely  interfered.  It  was  thought  that  no  moment  could 
be  more  favorable  than  the  present  to  secure  a  relinquishment  of  those  rights. 
An  agreement  of  reference  has  been  entered  Into  with  those  proprietors,  and  the 
amount  to  be  paid  by  the  city  for  such  reUnquIshment,  has  been  left  to  the  deci- 
sion of  five  of  our  most  intelligent,  independent,  and  confidential  citizens,  with 


APPENDIX.  383 

•whose  decision  it  cannot  be  qucstionetl  that  both  parties  will  have  reason  to  be 
satisfied,  notwithstanding  it  may  happen  that  their  award  on  the  one  side  may  be 
less,  or,  on  the  other,  more  than  their  respective  previous  anticipations. 

Touching  the  projected  improvements  in  the  vicinity  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market, 
not  only  the  extreme  necessities  of  the  city,  in  relation  to  space  for  a  market, 
have  led  to  this  project,  but  also  the  particular  relations  of  that  vicinitv'  have 
indicated  the  wisdom  and  policy,  even  at  some  risk  and  sacrifice,  of  bringing 
together  in  one  compact,  efiicient,  and  commodious  connection,  the  northern  and 
central  sections  of  our  city,  so  as  to  facilitate  the  intercourse  of  business  and 
enterprise  between  them,  and  bring  into  market,  and  into  use,  and  into  improve- 
ment parts  of  the  citj^,  at  present  old,  sightless,  inconvenient,  and  in  comparison 
•with  that  competency  which  must  result  from  a  judicious  arrangement,  at  present 
absolutely  useless. 

Both  these  measures  of  the  city  government,  relative  to  the  Ropewalks  and  to 
Faneuil  Hall  Market,  will  necessarily  lead  to  what,  to  many  of  our  citizens,  is  an 
object  of  great  dread,  —  a  city  debt. 

As  this  is  a  subject  of  considerable  importance,  and  touches  a  nerve  of  great 
sensibility,  it  ought  to  be  well  considered  and  rightly  understood  by  our  fellow- 
citizens.  I  shall,  therefore,  not  apologize  for  making,  on  this  occasion,  some 
observations  upon  it. 

The  right  to  create  a  debt,  is  a  power  vested  by  our  charter  in  the  Citj"  Coun- 
cil. Now  this,  like  every  other  power,  is  to  be  characterized  by  its  use.  This 
may  be  wise  and  prudent,  or  the  opposite,  according  to  the  objects  to  which  it  is 
applied,  and  the  manner  and  degree  of  that  application.  Absti-actedly,  a  debt  is 
no  more  an  object  of  terror  than  a  sword.  Both  are  Tery  dangerous  in  the 
hands  of  fools  or  madmen.  Both  are  very  safe,  innocent,  and  useful  in  the  hands 
of  the  wise  and  prudent. 

A  debt  created  for  a  puq^ose,  hke  that  which  probably  will  be  necessaiy  in  the 
case  of  the  ropewalks,  that  of  relieving  a  great  property  from  an  accidental 
embarrassment,  is  no  more  a  just  object  of  dread  to  a  city  than  a  debt  created 
for  seed  wheat  is  to  a  farmer ;  or  than  a  debt  for  any  object  of  certain  return  is 
to  a  merchant. 

So  in  the  case  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market ;  what  possible  object  of  rational 
apprehension  can  there  be  in  a  debt  created  for  the  pui-pose  of  purchasing  a 
tract  of  territory,  whose  value  must  be  increased  by  the  purchase,  which,  if  sold, 
cannot  fail  to  excite  a  great  competition,  and  if  retained,  the  incomes  of  which, 
so  far  as  respects  the  market,  are  wholly  within  the  conti'ol  of  the  city  author- 
ities? It  is  possible,  indeed,  that  more  may  be  paid  for  some  estates  than 
abstractedly  they  may  be  worth.  It  is  possible  that  great  changes  may  take 
place  in  the  value  of  real  estate  between  the  time  of  the  commencement  and  the 
time  of  completing  such  a  project.  But  the  reverse  is  also  quite  as  possible. 
Pro^adence  does  not  permit  man  to  act  upon  certainties.  The  constitution  of 
our  nature  obhges  hun,  in  every  condition  and  connection,  to  shape  his  course 
of  conduct  by  probabihties.  His  duty  is  to  weigh  maturely,  previous  to  decision, 
to  consider  anxiously  both  the  wisdom  of  his  ends  and  the  proportion  of  his 
means.  Once  decided,  in  execution  he  should  be  as  firm  and  rapid  as  in  coun- 
cil he  has  been  slow  and  deliberate ;  cultivating  in  his  own  breast  and  in  the 
breasts  of  others  just  confidence  in  the  continuance  of  the  usual  analogies  and 
relations  of  things. 


384  APPENDIX. 

The  destinies  of  tlie  city  of  Boston  are  of  a  nature  too  plain  to  be  denied  or 
misconceived.  The  prognostics  of  its  future  greatness  are  written  on  the  face 
of  nature  too  legibly  and  too  indelibly  to  be  mistaken.  These  indications  are 
apparent  from  the  location  of  our  city,  from  its  harbor,  and  its  relative  position 
among  rival  towns  and  cities ;  above  all,  from  the  character  of  its  inhabitants, 
and  the  singular  degree  of  enterprise  and  intelligence  wliich  are  diffused  through 
every  class  of  its  citizens.  Already  capital  and  population  is  determined  towards 
it  from  other  places,  by  a  certain  and  irresistible  power  of  attraction.  It  remains 
then  for  the  citizens  of  Boston  to  be  true  to  their  own  destinies  ;  to  be  willing  to 
meet  wise  expenditures  and  temporary  sacrifices,  and  thus  to  cooperate  with 
nature  and  Providence  in  their  apparent  tendencies  to  promote  their  greatness 
and  prosperity ;  thereby  not  only  improving  the  general  condition  of  the  city, 
elevating  its  character,  multiplying  its  accommodations,  and  strengthening  the 
predilections  which  exist  already  in  its  favor,  but  also  patronizing  and  finding 
employment  for  its  laborers  and  mechanics. 

It  is  true  the  power  of  credit,  like  every  other  power,  is  subject  to  abuse.  But 
to  improve  the  general  convenience  of  the  city,  to  augment  its  facilities  for  busi- 
ness, to  add  to  the  comfort  of  its  inhabitants,  and  in  this  way  to  augment  its 
resources,  are  among  the  most  obvious  and  legitimate  uses  of  that  power,  which, 
doubtless,  for  these  purposes,  was  intrusted  to  the  City  Council. 

Having  thus  explained  some  of  the  pi'incipal  proceedings  and  sources  of  extra- 
ordinary expense  occurring  during  the  past  year,  I  feel  myself  bound  to  make 
some  general  remarks  on  the  nature  of  the  office  I  have  had  the  honor  to  hold, 
and  to  which  the  suffrages  of  my  feUow-citizens  have  recalled  me.  It  is  import- 
ant that  a  right  apprehension  should  be  formed  concerning  its  duties,  its  respon- 
sibilities, the  powers  it  ought  to  possess,  and  what  the  people  have  a  right  to 
expect,  and  what  they  ought  to  exact  from  the  possessor  of  it.  And  I  do  this  the 
rather,  because  I  am  sensible  that  very  different  opinions  exist  upon  this  subject. 
There  are  those  who  consider  the  office  very  much  in  the  light  of  a  pageant, 
destined  merely  to  superintend  and  direct  the  general  course  of  administration, 
to  maintain  the  dignity,  and  to  "  dispense  the  hospitalities  "  of  the  city,  and  who 
deem  the  office  in  some  measure  degraded,  by  having  any  thing  of  a  laborious  or 
working  condition  connected  with  it ;  and  I  am  well  aware  that  the  practice  in 
other  cities  justifies  such  an  opinion.  I  have  not  thought,  however,  gentlemen, 
that  a  young  and  healthy  republic,  for  such  the  city  of  Boston  is,  should  seek  its 
precedents,  or  encourage  its  officers  in  looking  for  models  among  the  corrupt  and 
superannuated  forms  of  ancient  despotisms.  On  the  contrary,  it  seemed  to  me 
incumbent  on  the  early  possessor  of  this  office,  in  a  state  of  society  hke  that 
which  exists  in  Massachusetts,  and  for  which  this  city  is  preeminent,  to  look  at 
the  real  character  of  that  office,  as  it  is  indicated  by  the  expressions  of  the  char- 
ter, and  exists  in  the  nature  of  things,  with  little  or  no  regard  to  the  practice  of 
other  places,  or  to  opinions  founded  on  those  practices. 

In  this  view,  therefore,  my  attempt  has  been  to  attain  a  deep  and  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  interests  of  the  inhabitants  and  of  the  city ;  and  this  not 
by  general  surveys,  but  by  a  minute,  particular,  and  active  inspection  of  their 
public  concerns,  in  all  their  details. 

Although  this  course  has  been  the  occasion  of  much  trouble,  and  perhaps 
made  me  obnoxious  to  some  censure,  as  being  busy,  and  perhaps  meddling,  with 


AITENDIX.  385 

matters  out  of  my  sphere,  yet  I  have  thought  it  better  to  expose  myself  to  thf)so 
imputations,  than  to  forego  the  opportunities  such  a  course  of  conduct  allbrded 
of  obtaining  a  deep  and  thorough  acquaintance  with  tlic  business  and  interests 
of  the  city,  -wliich  the  charter  plainly  ijresujjposed,  and  indeed  was  necessary  to 
fulfil  the  duties  in  a  very  humble  degree  which  it  made  incumbent.  And  the 
more  experience  I  have  had  in  the  duties  of  this  oflice,  the  more  I  feel  obliged, 
both  by  jirecept  and  example,  to  press  upon  my  fellow-citizens  the  necessity  of 
considering  this  as  a  business  office,  combining  as  indispensable  requisites,  — 
great  zeal,  great  activity,  great  self-devotion,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  relations  of  the  peoi^le. 

Nor  is  it  only  necessary  that  these  tpialities  should  at  all  times  be  exacted  of 
the  chief  magistrate,  and  that  he  should  be  held  to  a  rigid  exhibition  of  them,  in 
his  official  conduct ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  also  necessary  that  all  the 
departments  should  be  so  arranged  as  to  throw  u^Don  him  the  full  weight  of  all 
the  responsibility  which  the  charter  attaches  to  his  office.  Whatever  has  a  tend- 
ency to  weaken  that  sense  of  responsibility,  above  all,  whatever  enables  the  exe- 
cutive officer  to  cast  the  blame  of  weak  plans  or  inefficient  execution  upon  others. 
has  a  direct  tendency  to  corrupt  the  executive,  and  to  deprive  the  citizens  of  a 
chief  benefit,  contemplated  in  the  charter. 

If  there  be  any  advantage  in  the  form  of  a  city  over  that  of  a  town  govern- 
ment, it  lies  in  one  single  word,  —  efficiencri.  In  this  point  of  view,  all  the 
powers  of  the  City  Council  may  be  considered  as  comprehending  also  the  execu- 
tive power,  of  which  the  Maj'or  is  but  a  branch.  For  they  enact  the  laws  which 
enable  his  department  to  possess  that  efficiency  the  charter  contemplates.  Now, 
efficiency  means  nothing  more  than  capacit)j  to  carry  into  effect.  Whatever  form 
of  organization  of  any  department  tends  to  deprive  the  executive  of  the  city  of 
the  power  to  carry  into  effect  the  laws,  or  transfers  that  power  to  others,  dis- 
connected from  his  responsibility,  has  a  direct  tendency  to  encourage  the  execu- 
tive in  ignorance,  inactivity,  or  imbecility,  which  will  inevitably,  sooner  or  later, 
result  just  in  proportion  as  the  organization  .enables  him  to  throw  the  blame  of 
mismanagement  upon  others,  or  not  to  hold  himself  accountable  for  it. 

Within  the  narrow  limits  and  in  relation  to  the  humble  objects  to  which  the 
executive  power  extends,  its  responsibility  should  be  clear,  undivided,  and  inca- 
pable of  being  evaded.  On  the  executive  should  ultimatelj'  devolve  the  account- 
abiHty  for  the  efficiency  of  all  the  departments  ;  and  every  organization  is  defect- 
ive which  enables  him  to  escape  from  it.  Every  citizen,  in  making  complaints 
to  this  officer,  should  be  certain  of  finding  redress,  or  of  being  pointed  to  the 
path  to  obtain  it.  And  as  to  those  general  nuisances  which  of!end  sense,  endan- 
ger health,  or  interfere  with  comfort,  his  power  should  enable  him  to  apply  a 
remedy  upon  the  instant,  or  at  least  as  readily  as  the  nature  of  the  particular 
subject-matter  permits ;  and  to  effect  this,  not  by  reference,  not  by  writing  sup- 
plicatory letters  to  independent  boards,  but  personally,  by  application  of  means 
in  his  own  hands,  or  by  agents  under  his  control,  and  for  whom  he  is  responsible. 

The  true  theory  of  the  form  of  government  which  our  fellow-citizens  have 
chosen,  results  in  a  severe  resj^onsibility  of  the  execiitive  power,  and  with  it  are 
identified  the  true  interests  of  the  citizens  and  the  real  advantages  of  a  city 
organization.  But  responsibility  implies  a  coextensive  power  as  its  basis.  The 
one  cannot,  and  ought  not  to  exist  without  the  other.  The  charter  makes  it  the 
33 


386  APPENDIX. 

duty  of  the  Mayor  "  to  be  vigilant  and  active  at  all  times,  in  causing  tlie  laws  for 
the  government  of  the  city  to  be  duly  executed  and  put  in  force."  Now,  how 
can  vigilance  and  activity  be  expected  in  an  officer,  in  relation  to  a  great  mass 
of  laws,  and  those  of  the  most  critical  and  important  character,  the  execution  of 
which  is  formally  and  expressly  transferred  to  others,  with  whose  execution,  if 
he  directly  interferes,  he  takes  the  risk  of  giving  offence  to  the  nice  sense  of 
honor  and  right  of  an  independent  board  ?  The  charter  makes  it  his  duty  "  to 
in'spect  the  conduct  of  all  subordinate  officers  in  the  government  thereof,  and  as 
far  as  in  his  power  to  cause  aU  negUgence,  carelessness,  and  positive  violations 
of  duty  to  be  prosecuted  and  punished."  Now,  how  can  he  do  this,  when  those 
who  execute  your  laws  do  not  consider  themselves  as  subordinate,  and  are  justi- 
fied in  that  opinion  by  the  form  and  circumstances  of  their  organizaticni  ? 

Again,  the  charter  plainly  implies  that  the  Mayor  of  this  city  should  make  him- 
self acquainted  thoroughly  and  intimately  with  all  its  great  interests,  "  with  its 
finances,  its  police,  its  health,  security,  cleanliness,  comfort,  and  ornament." 

Now,  what  encouragement  is  there  to  endeavor  to  fulfil  these  duties,  when  any 
of  its  great  interests  are  so  constituted  or  vested,  that  he  has  no  control  over 
them,  nor  any  power  of  making  any  inquisition  into  their  state  or  conduct, 
except  by  personal  solicitation  and  request ;  not  denied,  indeed,  -eut  of  pohteness 
and  respect,  but  perhaps  granted,  not  because  he  has  a  right  from  his  official 
relation  to  claim,  but  because,  on  the  present  occasion,  there  exists  a  willingness 
to  give  the  desired  information  ? 

The  organization  of  the  executive  power,  by  division  among  independent 
boards,  has  a  direct  tendency  to  corrupt  a  weak  executive  officer,  and  to 
embarrass  one  of  opposite  character. 

The  study  of  the  former  will  naturally  be  to  get  along  easily  ;  for  this  purpose 
he  will  yield  whatever  power  another  department  is  disposed  to  take,  for  thus  Ms 
responsibihty  is  diminished ;  and  instead  of  a  single  definite,  decided,  official 
action,  on  every  occasion  giving  security  to  the  citizen,  regardless  of  personal 
consequences,  his  course  will  be  timid,  shuffling,  and  compromising,  beginning 
with  the  vain  design  of  pleasing  everybody,  and  ending  with  the  still  vainer,  of 
expecting  in  this  way  long  to  maintain  either  Influence  or  chai-acter. 

An  executive,  on  the  contrary,  who  Is  firm  and  faithful  to  the  constitution  of 
the  city,  will  exercise  the  powers  it  confers.  He  will  claim  the  right  to  Inspect 
all  subordinate  officers  ;  he  wiU  consider  every  branch  of  executive  power,  ema- 
nating from  the  City  Council,  as  subordinate  by  the  charter  to  the  city  executive. 
He  will  claim  of  all  such  an  accountability  that  will  enable  him  to  understand 
every  interest  of  the  city  in  detail.  Such  a  course  would,  probably,  sooner  or 
later,  lead  to  controversies  concerning  the  rights  and  dignities  of  Independent 
boards ;  to  heart-burnings  and  jealousies  ;  perhaps  to  pamjjhlets  and  newspaper 
attacks,  which,  if  he  does  not  answer,  it  will  be  said,  that  it  Is  because  he  cannot ; 
and  which.  If  he  does  answer,  will  lead  to  a  reply,  and  that  to  a  rejoinder ;  and 
thus  the  executive  of  the  city,  instead  of  a  simple  and  plain  exercise  of  power, 
humble  and  limited  in  its  sphere,  yet  important  to  be  both  efficient  and  unem- 
barrassed, may  be  harassed  with  dlspi;tes  about  the  pretensions,  authorities,  and 
dignities  of  rival  powers,  vexatious  and  unprofitable,  terminating  In  nothing  but 
divisions  in  the  city,  and  Inefficiency  In  the  execution  of  the  laws. 

]  have  deemed  it  my  duty  to  express  myself  thus  distinctly,  and  In  a  most 


APPENDIX.  387 

unqualified  manner,  upon  this  point ;  and  the  rather,  thus  pnlillcly,  because  opi- 
nions in  this  respect  are  liable  to  be  misrepresented  or  uiisiuiderstood.  On  such 
occasions,  theretbre,  I  choose  to  throw  myself  on  the  intelligence  and  virtues  of 
the  mass  of  my  fellow-citizens,  whose  interests,  as  I  understand  them,  it  is  my 
single  desire  steadily  to  pursue,  and  who,  whether  they  coincide  or  differ  with 
me,  in  relation  to  the  particular  mode  of  pursuing  those  interests,  will,  I  have  a 
perfect  confidence,  justly  appreciate  my  motives. 

The  result  of  my  experience,  during  the  past  year,  on  this  subject,  is  this,  — 
that  the  interests  of  the  city  are  most  dcejjly  connected  with  such  an  organiza- 
tion of  every  branch  of  executive  power,  as  that  the  ultimate  responsibility  for 
the  execution  should  rest  upon  the  Mayor ;  and  which  he  should,  therefore,  be 
incapable  of  denying  or  evading; — that,  at  all  times,  the  blame  should  rest  upon 
him,  without  the  power  of  throwing  it  off  upon  others,  in  case  of  any  defect  of 
plan,  or  any  inefficiency  in  execution. 

In  making  these  remarks,  I  trust  I  shall  not  be  understood  as  not  appreciating 
as  I  ought,  in  common  with  my  fellow-citizens,  the  exertions  and  the  sacrifices 
of  those  excellent,  intelligent,  and  faithful  men,  who,  in  present  and  in  past  times, 
■with  so  much  honor  to  themselves  and  advantage  to  the  community,  have  admi- 
nistered the  concerns  of  independent  departments.  I  yield  to  none  of  my  fellow- 
citizens,  in  my  sense  of  gi-atitude  and  respect  to  them,  both  as  officers  and  indi- 
viduals. But  the  organization  of  a  cit}-  is,  in  the  nature  of  things,  essentially 
different  from  that  of  a  town.  The  relation  to  the  city,  in  which  I  have  been 
placed,  has  compelled  me  to  contemj^late,  and  prospectively  to  realize,  the  cer- 
tain embarrassments  which  must  result  from  an  organization  of  the  executive 
department,  varying  from  that  simplicity  which  the  charter  establishes,  as  likely 
deeply  to  affect  the  efficiency  of  the  system  now  upon  trial,  and  to  encourage, 
and  sooner  or  later  to  introduce  both  imbecility  and  inactivity  into  an  office 
which  can  alone  be  beneficial  to  the  city  when  it  is  possessed  by  directly  oppo- 
site qualities. 

I  have  no  apprehension  that  my  fellow-citizens  will  attribute  these  suggestions 
to  a  vulgar  and  vain  wish  to  extend  the  powei's  of  an  office  holden  but  for  a  year 
on  the  most  precarious  of  all  tenui'es.  The  efficiency  of  this  new  form  of  govern- 
ment is  mainly  dependent  on  its  simplicity,  and  on  the  fact  that  its  responsibilitv- 
is  undivided,  and  cannot  be  evaded  if  the  departments  be  organized  on  charter 
principles.  Much  of  the  benefit  of  the  new  system  will  depend  on  the  spirit 
which  characterizes  Its  commencement.  On  this  account,  the  individual  now 
possessing  the  executive  power  is  anxious,  on  the  one  hand,  that  none  of  its 
essential  advantages  should  be  lost  through  any  timidity  on  his  part,  in  expressing 
opinions,  the  result  of  his  experience,  or  through  any  unwillingness  to  incur  any 
labor,  or  meet  any  just  responsibility.  On  the  other,  he  has  no  higher  ambition 
than  by  a  diligent,  faithful,  and  laborious  fulfilment  of  every  known  duty,  and 
exercise  of  every  charter  right,  to  set  such  an  example,  and  estabhsh  such  pre- 
cedents as  will  give  to  this  new  government  a  fair  Impulse,  and  a  permanent  and 
happy  influence  upon  the  destinies  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  city. 

Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council:  — 

It  Is  the  felicity  of  all  who  are  called  to  the  government  of  this  city,  that  they 
serve  a  people  capable  of  appreciating,  and  AvOUng  actively  to  support  fiiithful 


388  appendix; 

cind  laborious  efforts  in  their  service; — aj)eople  in  all  times  distinguislied  for 
uniting  love  of  freedom  witli  respect  for  authority.  May  it  be  your  happiness, 
as  it  will  be  your  endeavor,  to  maintain  those  institutions,  under  which  such  a 
people  have  been  elevated  to  so  high  a  degree  of  prosperity !  Under  your 
auspices,  may  the  foundations  of  the  fabric  of  their  greatness  be  strengthened, 
its  proportions  enlarged,  its  internal  accommodations  improved  !  May  the  spirit 
of  liberty  and  the  spirit  of  good  government  continue  to  walk  hand  in  hand 
within  these  venerable  walls,  consecrated  by  so  many  precious  recollections. 
And  when  we  shall  have  passed  away,  and  the  places  which  now  know  us  shall 
know  us  no  more,  may  those  who  come  after  us  be  compelled  to  say,  that  the 
men  of  this  age  were  as  true .  to  the  past  and  the  future  as  to  their  own  times ; 
that  while  tliej^  had  preserved  and  enjoyed  the  noble  inheritance  which  had 
descended  to  them  from  their  ancestors,  they  had  transmitted  it  not  only  unim- 
paired, but  improved  to  their  posterity. 


(D.     Page  167.) 

THE   mayor's   inaugural   ADDRESS,   MAY,    1825. 

Gentlemen  of  tlie  City  Council:  — 

I  HAVE  again  to  acknowledge  my  grateful  sense  of  the  confidence  of  my 
fellow-citizens,  expressed  by  their  suffrages ;  and  to  renew  assurances  of  my 
endeavors  to  evince  my  gratitude,  by  increased  zeal,  activity,  and  devotion  to 
their  interests. 

Whatever  success  has  attended  the  administration  of  city  affairs,  is  chiefly  to 
be  attributed  to  those  excellent  and  faithful  men,  who  for  the  two  years  past 
have  composed  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  speak  too 
highly  of  their  disinterested  and  laborious  services ;  or  to  separate  from  them,  in 
official  relations,  without  expressing  my  personal  obligations  for  the  uniform 
respect,  confidence,  and  urbanity,  with  which  all  their  proceedings  have  been 
characterized,  both  as  it  respects  myself  and  each  other.  Their  persevering  and 
firm  pursuit  of  the  interests  of  the  city,  often  under  circumstances  of  great  deli- 
cacy and  difficulty,  entitle  them  to  be  ranked  among  its  distinguished  benefactors. 

Nor  ought  I  to  permit  the  occasion  to  pass,  without  paying  a  similar  tribute  to 
the  labors  and  fidelity  of  the  last  Common  Council. 

It  will  be  expected,  perhaps,  that,  on  this  occasion,  I  should  speak  of  the 
measures  of  the  last  year,  and  of  the  success  which  has  attended  them  ;  such  as 
the  estabHshment  of  an  auditor's  department ;  the  new  organization  of  that  of 
health  ;  the  connecting  the  system  of  scavengers  with  that  of  the  House  of  Indus- 
try ;  the  farther  extension  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market,  and  others  of  a  less  obtru- 
sive character.  All  these  have  been  conducted,  as  far  as  I  have  been  informed, 
generally  to  the  satisfaction  of  our  fellow-citizens  ;  and  I  know  that  the  detail 
of  results  would  still  farther  justify  that  satisfaction. 

I  prefer,  however,  to  occupy  the  present  moment  with  inquiries  concerning 


APPENDIX.  389 

future  duty,  rather  than  with  illustrations  of  past  success.  The  charter  of  the 
city  has  made  it  incumbent  on  its  executive  officer  to  inform  himself  on  all  sub- 
jects connected  ■vvith  its  prosperity  and  happiness,  and  to  recommend  measures 
for  the  advancement  of  both  to  the  City  Council.  This  injunction  it  has  sanc- 
tioned with  the  solemnity  of  an  oath.  In  obedience  to  these  obligations,  thus 
sacredly  enfoi'ced,  I  hasten  to  a  topic,  deeply  interesting  to  the  prosperity,  safety, 
and  character  of  this  city,  which  events  and  experience  press  upon  the  mind 
Avith  an  intense  and  absorbing  interest.  I  do  this  the  rather  because  the  subject 
is  of  high  responsibility ;  touches  some  interests  and  more  prejudices ;  and  is  also 
of  a  nature  easily  to  be  mistaken  and  misi'epresented.  This  subject,  therefore, 
is  one  on  which  it  is  the  incumbent  duty  of  him,  who  is  intrusted  with  the  chief 
office  in  this  city,  to  form  and  to  express  a  decided  opinion,  and  to  leave  no 
doubt  concerning  his  own  path,  in  relation  to  it ;  and  none  concerning  his 
opinion  of  the  duty  of  others. 

What  though  the  develoi^ment  of  this  opinion  may  affect  that  evanescent 
splendor,  which  is  called  populaiity  ?  Of  what  value  is  any  popularity,  which 
will  not  bear  the  hazard  of  fulfilled  duty  ?  Precious  as  is  the  possession  of  the 
confidence  of  fellow-citizens,  yet  even  this  is  more  worthless  than  "  the  light  dust 
of  the  balance,"  in  comparison  with  the  infinite  consequence  of  possessing  the 
consciousness  of  deserving  it. 

The  topic  to  which  I  allude,  relates  to  the  effect,  under  a  city  organization, 
of  the  existence  of  independent  executive  boards,  and  the  consequences  of  the 
particular  form  of  constituting  those  which  exist  in  this  city. 

The  existence  of  such  boards  is  an  anomaly  under  a  city  organization ;  is 
inconsistent  with  the  theory  of,  or  any  known  practice  under,  such  a  form  of 
government ;  and  seems  also  incompatible  with  the  attainment  of  the  objects 
which  the  people  propose  to  themselves  in  establishing  it. 

In  every  other  city  the  representative  body,  chosen  by  the  people,  as  their 
city  council,  has  the  control  of  every  relation  of  a  municipal  chartxcter,  whether 
it  affect  economy,  protection,  or  general  superintendence.  If,  in  any  case,  it 
act  through  the  instrumentality  of  boards,  the  members  of  such  boards  are 
selected  by  it,  and  responsible  to  it,  in  like  manner  as  the  members  of  the  City 
Council  are,  in  their  turn,  responsible  for  such  selection,  as  well  as  for  all  their 
other  acts,  to  the  people. 

In  all  this  there  is  a  manifest  simplicity,  calculated  to  pi'oduce  harmony  and 
energy.  The  people,  who  look  only  to  their  City  Council,  know  who  to  blame, 
if  there  be  fault.  The  City  Council,  on  the  other  hand,  when  any  good  Is  to  be 
effected,  is  not  embarrassed  by  fears  of  trenching  upon  rival  authorities,  of 
awakening  jealousies,  or  of  being  troubled  with  contests  about  jurisdictions. 

The  objects  a  people  propose  to  themselves  in  forming  a  city  government  are, 
efficiency  and  responsibility.  Now,  can  any  have  a  more  obvious  tendency  to 
obstruct,  or  defeat  both,  than  an  organization  which  severs  from  each  other 
naturally  allied  portions  of  municipal  power,  and  divides  them  out  by  very  Indis- 
tinct limits  among  Independent  boards  ?  Can  any  thing  be  better  calculated  to 
create  discord,  jealousies,  and  controversies  In  a  community? 

The  form  of  constituting  these  boards,  under  our  city  charter.  Is  still  more 
exceptionable  ;  and,  what  is  very  extraordinary,  is  just  as  inconsistent  with  the 
33* 


390  APPENDIX. 

practice  of  tlie  ancient  town  government,  as  it  is  "witla  tlie  tlieory  of  city  organ- 
ization. 

Under  the  town  government  all  the  boards,  of  Firewards,  Overseers  of  the 
Poor,  and  School  Conunittee,  were  chosen  by  the  votes  of  all  the  inhabitants,  in 
a  general  ticket.  The  theory  and  practice  of  the  toAvn  government  was,  that 
those  officers^  in  whose  chai'cicter  and  adaptation  to  their  office,  all  the  citizens  had 
an  interest,  should  he  chosen  by  the  major  voice  of  all  the  citizens. 

Two  consequences  obviously  flowed  from  this  mode  of  election.  1st.  A  con- 
currence of  a  majority  of  all  the  citizens  being  requisite  for  a  choice,  the  candi- 
dates were,  for  the  most  part,  selected  from  men  of  high,  general  character,  and 
from  no  local  or  sectional  considerations  ;  whereby  a  very  fair  proportion  of  the 
general  talent  and  respectabihty  of  the  town  was  necessarily  infused  into  those 
boards.  2d.  The  form  of  election  being  by  general  ticket,  previous  consultation 
was  had,  not  only  in  relation  to  the  adaptation  of  the  candidate  for  the  office, 
but  also  of  the  adaptation  of  candidates  to  one  another;  so  that  the  board  might 
be  composed  of  men  agreeable  to  each  other,  and  thus  capable  by  consentane- 
ousness  of  views  and  feelings,  to  produce  a  similar  consentaneousness  of  system 
and  action. 

The  necessary  effect  of  this  form  of  election  was  to  enlarge  the  sphere  out  of 
which  candidates  could  be  obtained.  Men  being  always  more  wilhng  to  under- 
take an  office  of  a  laborious  and  responsible  character,  when  they  know,  pre- 
viously to  their  election,  with  whom  they  are  likely  to  be  associated. 

These  consequences  are  obvious,  and  were  among  the  causes  of  the  long  and 
happy  organization  of  those  boards,  under  the  town  government. 

These  advantages  are  in  a  great  measure,  and  some  of  them  wholly,  lost  imder 
the  provisions  of  our  city  charter. 

Instead  of  being  chosen  by  all  the  citizens,  by  a  general  ticket,  the  member? 
are  divided  among  the  wards,  each  choosing  its  proportion.  The  fundamental 
principle  of  the  ancient  town  government,  —  that  officers,  in  whose  character 
and  adaptation  all  the  citizens  had  an  interest,  should  be  chosen  by  the  major 
voice  of  all,  —  has  thus  been  abandoned.  All  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  have 
consented  to  barter  the  common  right  they  formerly  enjoyed,  of  having  a  voice 
in  choosing  the  whole,  for  the  sake  of  an  exclusive  right,  in  wards,  of  choosing 
a  twelfth  part.  And  the  power  the  whole  people  of  the  city  once  possessed  of 
attaining  a  certain  result,  conformably  to  the  general  tvill,  has  thus  been  exchanged 
for  the  chance  of  attaining  an  uncertain  residt  of  twelve  particular  loills,  coexisting 
in  that  number  of  wards. 

I  speak  of  these  consequences  with  the  more  freedom,  because  I  know  they 
are  felt  and  acknowledged  by  very  many  of  our  most  intelligent  and  patriotic 
citizens  ;  and  because  I  have  been  made  officially  acquainted  with  the  fact,  that 
the  effect  produced  by  the  present  mode  of  electing  these  officers  has  been,  in 
many  instances,  the  openly  avowed  reason  of  declining  to  become  candidates  by 
some,  and  of  the  resignation  of  these  offices  by  others. 

The  nature  and  extent  of  this  evil  is  not  to  be  appreciated  by  any  estimate, 
since  every  form  of  organization,  which  tends  to  render  wise,  faithful,  and 
business  men  unwilling  to  serve  a  community,  is  productive  of  mischiefs  alto- 
gether incalculable. 


APPENDIX.  391 

Touching  the  remedy  for  these  evils,  the  oLligations  of  the  city  charter  compel 
me  to  speak  distinctly  and  unequivocally. 

Under  a  cilij  ortjanizatlon  there  is  no  mode  of  selectuiy  such  hoards,  consisteid 
with  haniioni/,  efficiency,  and  responsihilihj,  except,  their  election  hij  the  Citij 
Council. 

Every  other  mode  establishes,  or  gives  to  such  board  a  color  to  assume  tiie 
character  of  independence.  And  wherever  this  quality  exists,  or  is  assumed, 
jealousies,  rivalries,  claims  of  jurisdiction,  and  contests  for  authority  between  it 
and  the  City  Council,  are  inevitable. 

The  station  I  have  had  the  honor  for  the  last  two  years  to  hold,  has  compelled 
me  to  witness  past  embarrassments,  and  to  realize  those  which  are  to  come, 
in  consequence  of  tliis  unprecedented  organization  of  city  power.  Between  the 
City  Council,  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  and  the  School  Committee,  very  serious 
and  difficult  questions  have  already  arisen,  and  are  yet  unsettled.  Nor  is  it 
possible,  in  the  nature  of  things,  that  such  controversies  should  not  arise  and  be 
productive  of  bitterness  and  discord,  so  long  as  in  the  gi'eat  interests  of  protec- 
tion against  fire,  of  education,  and  of  support  of  the  poor,  the  right  to  manage  and 
expend  money  is  claimed  by  one  board,  and  the  right  to  regulate,  appropriate, 
and  call  to  account  is  vested  in  another. 

As  I  have  no  question  concerning  the  remedy,  so  also  I  have  none  concerning 
the  mode  in  which  it  ought  to  be  sought.  1st.  By  an  arrangement  of  the  details 
by  the  City  Council  relative  to  each  board,  conformably  to  the  subject-matter 
of  its  power,  predicated  on  the  principle  of  election  by  that  body.  2d.  By  an 
application  to  the  legislature  for  its  sanction  of  those  details  and  of  that  prin- 
ciple. 3d.  By  an  ultimate  reference  of  the  whole,  for  the  approbation,  by 
general  ballot,  of  our  fellow-citizens. 

Let  it  not  be  objected  to  such  an  attempt,  that  it  will  be  construed  into  "  a 
grasp  after  more  power,"  by  the  City  Council,  and  be  opposed  from  jealousy,  or 
prejudice.  Those  who  thus  object,  do  but  little  justice  to  the  thoughtful  and 
prescient  character  of  the  citizens  of  this  metropolis ;  at  all  times  as  distin- 
guished for  justly  appreciating  the  necessities  of  legitimate  power,  and  for  a  wil- 
lingness to  yield  whatever  is  plainly  requisite  for  a  vigorous  and  responsible 
action  of  constituted  authorities,  as  for  a  keen  perception  and  quick  resistance  to 
tyrannical  control. 

Grant,  however,  the  attempt  should  fail,  what  then  ?  The  City  Council 
stand  before  the  public  and  before  heaven,  with  the  proud  consciousness  of  ful- 
filled duty ;  discharged  from  all  accountability  for  the  inconveniences  and 
embarrassments,  which  cannot  fail  to  flow  from  the  present  organization  so  long 
as"  it  exists. 

For  myself,  whatever  may  be  the  event,  I  shall  have  the  satisfaction  of  that 
internal  assurance,  which  is  better  than  all  hinnan  approbation,  that  none  of  the 
evils  which  may  occur,  can  be  attributed  either  to  the  want  of  anxious  precau- 
tion, or  to  the  shrinking  from  just  responsibility,  in  the  executive  officer.  Nor 
have  I  any  apprehension  that  these  remarks  will  be  construed  Into  any  reflec- 
tion upon  the  gentlemen  who  now  hold,  or  who  recently  have  held  scats  in  either 
of  those  boards.  Many  of  them  are  among  the  most  intelligent  and  patriotic  of 
our  fellow-citizens.  Some  of  them,  I  know,  concur  in  the  general  opinions  above 
expressed.     The  subject  has  reference  to  the  necessary  and  obvious  effects  of  a 


392  APPENDIX. 

particular  organization  of  our  city  government,  of  wliich  I  am  bound  to  speak, 
according  to  the  state  of  my  convictions,  witli  a  plainness  authorized  by  the 
charter  and  required  by  the  oath  it  has  imposed.  These  obligations  fulfilled, 
I  leave  every  thing  else  to  the  candor,  the  intelligence,  and  virtue  of  my  fellow- 
citizens.  In  which  I  repose  an  entire  confidence. 

Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council :  — 

The  events  of  the  past  years  of  our  city  organization  are  full  of  satisfaction 
and  encouragement.  Between  the  branches  and  between  the  members  of  the 
City  Council  there  has  uniformly  existed  a  harmonious,  urbane,  and  conciliator}' 
intercourse.  The  interests  of  the  city  have  been  studied  and  pursued  with  an 
exclusive  eye,  and  a  firm,  unhesitating  step. 

Neither  the  spirit  of  selfishness,  nor  the  spirit  of  party,  has  ever  dared  to 
mingle  its  unhallowed  voice  in  the  debates  of  either  branch  of  the  City  CouncIL 
These  are  proud  recollections,  as  it  respects  the  past ;  and  happy  auguries,  as  it 
respects  the  future. 

May  they  continue  and  be  multiplied  !  May  the  members  of  the  present,  like 
those  of  former  City  Councils,  close  their  labors  with  the  approbation  and 
applause  of  the  multitude  of  their  brethren ;  as  those,  who  ha^fi  sought  with 
singleness,  sincerity,  and  success,  the  Interest  and  honor  of  the  city ;  the  im- 
provement of  its  accommodations,  the  enlargement  of  Its  resources,  and  the 
advancement  of  all  the  means  which  constlttite  a  prosperous,  happy,  and  virtuous 
community. 


(E.     Page  197.) 

THE    mayor's   inaugural   ADDRESS,   JANUARY,    1826. 

Gentlemen  of  ilie  City  Council :  — 

To  express  gratitude  for  this  renewed  Instance  of  the  confidence  of  my  fellow- 
citizens,  and  to  repeat  assurances  of  a  zeal  and  fidelity  in  their  service.  In  some 
degree  proportionate  to  that  confidence,  are  natural  and  suitable  on  the  present 
occasion.  It  cannot  be  expected  that  he,  who  sustains  the  complicated  relation 
of  chief  magistrate  of  this  city,  let  his  endeavoi's  be  what  they  may,  should  at  all 
times  satisfy  the  often-conflicting  passions  and  interests  always  necessarllj^  exist- 
ing In  so  great  a  community.  Much  less  can  it  be  expected  from  the  individual, 
who,  through  the  indulgence  of  his  fellow-citizens.  Is  now  permitted  to  enjoy 
that  distinction.  In  all  cases,  however,  of  doubt  and  difiiculty,  that  Individual 
win  rest  confidently  for  support,  even  with  those  who  differ  with  him  in  opinion, 
on  the  consciousness,  which  he  trusts  his  general  course  of  conduct  will  impress, 
that  every  act  of  his  ofiiclal  conduct,  whether  acceptable  or  otherwise,  proceeds 
from  a  single  regard  to  the  honor  of  the  city,  and  to  the  happiness  and  best 
interests  of  its  Inhabitants. 

It  Is  with  great  delight.  Gentlemen,  that  I  must  hcj-c  pay  a  tribute,  justly  due  to 
the  wisdom  and  public  spirit  of  all  our  former  City  Councils.     Their  hai'uiony,  in 


ArPENDIX.  393 

relation  to  objects  of  public  improvement,  tlieir  vigilance  in  maintaining  the 
checks  of  our  city  charter,  and  the  rec-iprocal  cooperation  of  the  branches  and 
members  in  advancing  the  general  interests  of  the  city,  •without  local,  party,  or 
selfish  considerations,  are  facts  at  once  exemplary  and  encouraging  ;  the  results 
of  Avhich  are  apparent  in  our  streets,  in  our  public  buildings,  in  tlie  augmented 
value  of  our  city  lands,  and  in  the  increasing  satisfaction  of  our  fellow-citizens, 
with  their  new  form  of  government. 

The  un(iuestionable  evidence  derived  from  our  recent  census,  has  fulfilled  the 
expectations  of  the  most  sanguine  ;  and  has  put  beyond  question,  that  the  increase 
of  this  city,  during  the  five  years  past,  has  been,  to  say  the  least,  not  inferior  to 
that  of  any  of  our  maritime  cities,  on  the  previous  actual  basis  of  its  population. 

This  fact  may  be  considered  as  conclusive  on  its  future  prospects.  For  if,  at  a 
time  when  universal  peace  among  European  nations  has  changed  and  hmited 
the  field  of  commercial  enterprise,  on  which  the  gi'eatness  of  this  city  was  once 
supposed,  in  a  manner,  altogether  to  depend,  it  appears  that,  notwithstanding 
this  change  and  limitation,  its  growth,  instead  of  being  diminished,  is  increasing 
with  a  rapidity  equal  to  that  of  the  most  favored  of  our  commercial  cities,  it 
follows  conclusively,  that  our  greatness  is  not  altogether  dependent  upon  foreign 
commerce  ;  and  also,  that  the  enterprise,  capital,  and  intelligence  of  our  citizens, 
determined  inwards,  and  active  upon  agriculture,  manufactures^  and  in  our 
coasting  trade,  are  producing  results  even  more  auspicious  than  our  foreign 
commerce,  in  its  most  prosperous  state,  ever  effected; — than  which,  to  the 
patriot's  heart  and  hope,  no  facts  of  a  mere  physical  character,  can  be  more 
encoui'aging  or  delightful. 

Similar  grounds  for  satisfaction  will  be  found  in  comparing  the  increasing 
results  of  the  aggregates  of  our  valuation,  and  the  decreasing  results  of  the  ratio 
of  our  taxes.  During  the  five  years  fi'om  1821  to  1825,  inclusive,  it  appears  by 
the  Assessors'  records,  that  the  whole  aggregate  of  real  and  personal  property  in 
this  city  increased  from  twenty  millions  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  to 
twenty-six  millions  two  hundred  thousand ;  .making  a  regular  annual  increase 
of  about  one  million  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Of  which  increased  capital, 
it  will  appear,  by  comparing  the  aggregate  of  1821  with  that  of  1825,  that  four 
millions  five  hundred  thousand  have  been  invested  in  real,  and  one  million  five 
hundred  thousand  in  personal  estate. 

During  this  period,  it  is  true,  as  is  inevitable  in  a  progressive  state  of  society, 
increasing  daily,  not  only  in  numbers,  but  in  municipal  exigencies  and  requisi- 
tions for  expenditures,  on  account  of  improvements,  the  amount  of  our  taxes 
have  increased  in  the  aggregate.  Yet,  at  the  same  time,  owing  to  the  increased 
aggregates  of  our  valuation,  the  ratio  of  assessment  has  diminished.  Thus,  if  the 
ratios  of  assessment  of  the  five  years  immediately  preceding  1820,  be  compared 
with  the  five  years  from  1820,  inclusive,  it  will  be  found  that  the  average  of  the 
annual  ratios  of  the  former  was  eight  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  on  the  thousand 
dollars,  and  that  the  average  of  the  annual  ratios  of  the  latter  was  only  seven 
dollars  and  eighty  cents.     The  ratio  of  the  present  year  will  be  seven  dollars. 

A  farther  illustration  of  our  general  prosperity  is  deducible  from  the  fl\ct,  that, 
notwithstanding  the  amount  of  our  taxes  has  increased,  with  the  increasing  wealth 
and  population  of  the  city ;  yet  the  ratio  of  uncollected  taxes  has,  in  every  suc- 
cessive year,  since  the  existence  of  our  city  government,  been  diminishing. 


394  APPENDIX. 

I  have  been  thus  precise  and  distinct  upon  this  point,  because  discontent  at 
any  existing  state  of  things  is  most  likely  to  appear  in  the  form  of  complaints 
relative  to  taxes.  Now,  it  is  obviously  impossible,  in  the  nature  of  things,  that 
the  assessment  of  taxes,  in  any  great  community,  should  exactly  proportion  the 
burden  to  the  ability  of  each  individual  to  bear  it.  Some  will  unavoidably  be 
taxed  more  and  others  less  than  their  precise  proportion.  It  cannot,  therefore, 
but  happen,  even  under  the  best  fomi  and  ratio  of  taxation,  that  there  must  be 
some,  who  can  complain  with  reason,  as  there  will  always  be  many,  who  will 
complain  without  reason.  With  respect  to  the  community  itself,  however,  as  the 
best  criterion  it  can  possibly  have  of  its  progressive  prosperity  is  a  regular 
increase  of  its  population,  accompanied  by  a  regular  increase  of  its  wealth,  so 
when  the  aggregate  of  its  wealth  increases,  and  at  the  same  time  the  ratio  of  its 
assessments  actually  diminishes,  it  has  the  best  evidence,  the  nature  of  things 
admits,  that  its  general  expenditures  are  not  greater  than  the  actual  state  of  its 
condition  and  progress  requires.  But  in  such  case,  however,  as  particular  ex- 
penditures may  be  unwise  or  extravagant,  it  is  still  its  duty  even  under  such 
circumstances,  to  exact  from  its  agents  a  rigid  accountability. 

Touching  the  expenditures  of  the  past  year,  it  is  not  known  that  any  of  them 
require  a  particular  explanation  on  the  present  occasion.  In  general,  I  appre- 
hend, they  have  been  satisfactory  to  our  fellow-citizens,  so  far  as  respects  their 
objects.  And  they  well  understand  that  it  is,  probably,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
impossible  to  conduct  all  the  details  of  public  expenditure  with  that  precise 
economy  which  an  individual  applies  to  his  private  concerns.  I  am  not,  how- 
ever, aware,  that  there  have  been  any  such,  during  the  past  year,  which  cannot, 
under  the  circumstances  of  each  case,  be  satisfactorily  explained  by  the  parti- 
cular agents. 

In  connection  with  this  subject,  it  is  impossible  for  me  not  to  notice  the  happy 
effects  produced  by  the  establishment  of  the  office  of  Auditor  of  Accounts,  which, 
canned  into  operation  by  the  exemplary  industry  and  ability  of  that  officer,  and 
by  the  indefatigable  fidelity  of  the  Committee  of  Accounts,  has  introduced  an 
order,  simplicity,  and  correctness  into  that  department,  not  only  highly  credit- 
able to  the  city,  but  also  facilitating,  in  the  highest  possible  degree,  particular 
inquiries  and  general  knowledge  relative  to  the  state  of  our  financial  concerns. 

Among  the  objects  to  which  the  attention  of  the  City  Council  will  be  drawn 
the  ensuing  year,  is  that  of  a  sufficient  and  never-failing  supply  for  our  city  of 
pure  river  or  pond  water,  which  shall  be  adequate  for  all  purposes  of  protection 
against  fire,  and  for  all  culinary  and  other  domestic  purposes,  and  capable  of 
being  introduced  into  every  house  in  the  city.  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  state  un- 
equivocally, that  this  object  ought  never  to  be  lost  sight  of  by  the  City  Council, 
until  effected  upon  a  scale  proportionate  to  its  convenience  and  our  urgent  neces- 
sities. Physicians  of  the  first  respectability  have  urged  this  topic  upon  me,  in 
my  official  capacity,  on  the  ground  of  health,  in  addition  to  all  the  other  obvious 
comforts  and  advantages  to  be  anticipated  from  an  adequate  supply  of  such  water, 
"  The  spring  water  of  Boston,  they  assert  to  be  generally  harsh,  owing  to  its 
being  impregnated  with  various  saline  substances ;  and  that  this  impregnation 
impairs  its  excellence  as  an  article  of  drink,  and  essentially  diminishes  its  salu- 
brity. In  the  course  of  their  practice,  they  say  they  have  noticed  many  diseases 
to  be  reheved  and  cured  by  an  exchange  of  the  common  spring  water  for  soft 


APPENDIX.  395 

water  of  the  aqueduct,  or  distilled  water.  Ilonoe,  they  have  been  led  to  the 
opinion,  that  many  complaints  of  obscure  origin,  owe  their  existenc-e  to  the 
qualities  of  the  common  spring  water  of  Boston."  ,  .  "  The  introduction  of  an 
ample  supply  of  pure  water,  would,  therefore,  they  apprehend,  contribute;  much 
to  the  health  of  the  place,  and  prove  one  of  the  greatest  blessings,  which  could 
he  bestowed  on  this  city." 

I  am  induced  to  bring  this  subject  before  the  City  Council  on  the  present 
occasion,  thus  distinctly,  from  having  been  informed  that  citizens  among  us  of  the 
highest  respectability,  both  in  point  of  talents  and  property,  seriously  contem- 
plate an  association  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  this  city  with  water,  and  of 
making  application  to  the  Legislature  for  an  act  of  incorporation  for  that  object. 
An  attempt,  which,  if  made,  I  trust  will  be  met  by  the  City  Council  with  the 
most  decided  and  strenuous  ojiposition  ;  and  with  a  corresponding  spirit  and 
determination  to  effect  this  great  object,  solely  on  the  account  and  with  the 
resources  of  the  city.  On  this  topic,  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  declare  explicitly  my 
opinion,  that  in  such  a  project  the  city  ought  to  consent  to  no  copartnership. 

If  there  be  any  privilege,  which  a  city  ought  to  reserve,  exclusively,  in  its 
own  hands  and  under  its  own  control,  it  is  that  of  supplying  itself  with  water. 

No  private  capitalists  will  engage  in  such  an  enterprise,  without  at  least  a 
rational  expectation  of  profit.  To  this,  either  an  exclusive  right,  or  a  privilege 
of  the  nature  of,  or  equivalent  to,  an  exclusive  right  is  essential.  There  are  so 
many  ways,  in  which  water  may  be  desirable,  and  in  such  a  variety  of  quan- 
tities, for  use,  comfort,  and  pleasure,  that  it  is  impossible  to  provide,  by  any 
prospective  provisions,  in  any  charter  granted  to  individuals  for  all  the  cases, 
uses,  and  quantities,  which  the  ever-increasing  wants  of  the  population  of  a  great 
city  in  the  course  of  years  may  require.  Besides,  it  being  an  article  of  the  first 
necessity,  and  on  its  free  use  so  much  of  health,  as  well  of  comfort,  depends, 
every  city  should  reserve  in  its  own  power  the  means,  unrestrained,  of  encourag- 
ing its  use,  by  reducing  as  fast  as  possible  the  cost  of  obtaining  it,  not  only  to  the 
poor,  but  to  all  classes  of  the  community.  .This  can  never  be  the  case,  when,  the 
right  is  in  the  hands  of  individuals,  with  any  thing  like  the  facility  and  speed,  as 
when  it  is  under  the  entire  control  of  the  city. 

In  addition  to  these  considerations,  the  right  to  break  up  the  streets  which  that 
of  supplying  the  city  with  water  implies,  ought  never  to  be  intrusted  to  private 
hands,  who  through  cupidity,  or  regard  to  a  false  economy,  may  have  an  interest 
not  to  execute  the  works  upon  a  sufficiently  extensive  scale,  with  permanent 
materials,  thereby  increasing  the  inconvenience  and  expense  which  the  exercise 
of  the  power  of  breaking  up  the  streets,  necessarily  induces. 

A  letter  to  me  from  the  Superintendent  of  the  Philadelphia  "Water  Woi-ks, 
(Joseph  S.  Lewis,  Esq.,)  a  gentleman  among  those  chiefly  employed  in  their 
original  construction,  dated  the  21st  of  December  last,  is  so  full  upon  this  point, 
that  I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  a  considerable  portion  of  it. 

"  Your  object  should  be  to  have  enough  and  to  spare,  and  the  calculation 
should  be  formed  on  one  hundred  and  fifty  gallons  for  each  family,  which  will 
afford  a  supply  for  washing  the  streets,  waste  by  leakage,  &c. ;  and  the  expe- 
rience of  this  city  (Philadelphia)  fully  justifies  in  saying,  that  it  is  not  too  much, 
although  in  London,  a  less  quantity  is  made  to  answer;  and  owing  to  rivalships 
amongst  the  several  companies,  the  inhabitants  have  enough  for  drink,  and  for 


396  ^  APPENDIX. 

ciilinaiy  and  otlier  family  purposes.  Yet  none  is  to  be  seen  in  use  in  cleaning 
the  gutters,  washing  the  pavements,  and  various  methods  of  consumption,  abso- 
lutely essential  to  existence  and  comfort,  in  our  climate,  in  three  or  four  hot 
months  of  the  year.  Scarcely  a  fire  happens  of  any  magnitude  in  London,  with- 
out complaints  of  a  deficiency  of  water,  and  I  have  in  my  possession  a  paper, 
containing  an  account  of  a  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  of  London,  convened 
for  the  exj^ress  purpose  of  inquiring  into  the  cause,  which  it  does  not  require 
much  consideration  to  discover. 

'■'■It  is  from  tlie  fatal  error  of  suffering  interested  individuals  to  have  the  supply 
of  an  article  of  the  most  indispensable  nature,  and  loithout  ivhich  health  and  com- 
fort cannot  be  enjoyed.  Expense  is  not  to  be  regarded.  If  a  company  can 
supply  your  city,  they  will  expect  to  profit  by  it ;  and  this  profit  miglit  as  weU 
be  saved  by  your  corporation.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  be  a  losing  business, 
individuals  should  not  suffer  by  forwarding  a  great  public  object ;  and  if  they  do, 
the  citizens  wiU  feel  it  by  a  pinched  and  partial  supply. 

"  This  city  (Philadeljihia)  has  expended  vast  sums  of  monej^  out  of  its  own 
resources ;  and  if  more  were  required,  more  would  be  cheerfully  accorded. 
There  is  no  one  thing,  in  which  all  are  so  much  united ;  and  I  firmly  believe, 
that,  if  a  question  was  submitted  to  the  citizens,  to  sell  to  a  company  who  would 
pay  back  the  whole  cost,  with  interest,  that  not  a  tenth  of  the  population  would 
agree  to  it.  The  increased  security  from  fire,  the  abundant  su^Dply  for  washing 
the  streets,  the  copious  streams  afforded  for  baths,  for  cleanliness,  and,  in  short, 
many  other  advantages  are  such,  and  so  well  appreciated,  that  no  money  could 
purchase  the  surrender  of  the  works. 

"  Tlie  whole  cost  of  the  water-works,  including  the  pipes  for  distribution, 
preA'ious  to  the  erection  of  the  new  water- works,  was  $1,138,857,  without  adding 
interest.  Yet,  such  was  the  eageriiess  for  a  more  abundant  supply,  that  a  unani- 
mous sanction  was  given  to  the  new  plan,  which  has  happily  succeeded,  of 
raising  the  water  by  water  power  ;  the  cost  of  wliich  may  be  put  dov/n,  including 

the  river  rights,  at .       $450,000 

And  in  addition  to  this,  iron  pipes  are  substituted  for  those  of  wood, 

the  cost  of  which,  thus  far,  may  be  called 150,000 


Amounting,  in  the  whole,  to $600,000 

"  This  sum,  added  to  that  before  mentioned,  with  the  interest  paid,  will  amount 
to  more  than  two  millions  of  dollars. 

"  I  have  said  thus  much  to  hold  out  an  inducement  to  your  city  to  persevere  in 
obtaining  a  supply,  and  have  held  out  our  example  to  show,  that  cost  is  not  to 
be  regarded  by  us  in  so  essential  a  matter.  We  have  been  pioneers  for  our 
sister  cities,  who  may  now  practically  obtain  a  supply  of  water,  without  paying 
for  the  cost  of  our  experiments." 

Other  facts  and  documents  connected  with  this  subject  will  be  hereafter  com- 
municated, should  the  City  Council  deem  it  expedient  to  take  it  seriously  into 
consideration. 

Two  occasions  have  occurred,  during  the  past  year,  which  made  it  necessary 
for  the  Mayor  to  examine,  with  great  attention,  the  powers  conferred  on  him  by 
the  city  charter,  in  relation  to  the  suppression  of  riots,  and  similar  unlawful 
assemblies ;  so  as  to  be  enabled  to  justify,  before  a  legal  tribunal,  the  extreme 


APPENDIX.  397 

resort,  which,  in  such  cases,  he  might  possibly  think  requisite.  After  consultjitioii 
with  the  best  legal  advisers,  it  was  deemed  most  safe  for  the  Mayor  to  act  in  the 
capacity  of  justice  of  the  peace  throughout  the  Commonwealth,  which  he  hap- 
pened to  hold  ;  inasmuch  as  the  powers  of  the  Mayor,  as  expressed  in  the  city 
charter,  are  of  the  most  general  character,  and  no  legislative  or  judicial  construc- 
tion has  ever  occun-ed  in  relation  to  them.  The  duty  of  the  IMayor,  as  expressed 
in  the  city  charter,  is,  to  take  care  that  all  laws  for  the  government  of  the  city  are 
executed.  Riots,  routs,  and  unlawful  assemblies,  are  cognizable  only  under  the 
laws  of  the  Commonwealth.  By  these  laws,  the  course  of  proceedings,  and  the 
persons  intrusted  with  their  execution,  are  expressly  pointed  out;  and  among 
them  the  Mayor  of  the  city  is  not  included. 

In  general,  it  may  be  observed,  that  an  undefined  and  exaggerated  notion  of 
the  powers  of  the  Mayor  has  led  our  fellow-citizens  to  expect  a  much  greater 
exercise  of  authority,  in  many  cases,  than  the  terms  of  the  city  charter  justifies. 
It  is,  however,  certain,  that  in  respect  of  riots,  the  Mayor,  by  the  mere  virtue  of 
his  office,  does  not  possess  even  the  power  of  a  justice  of  the  peace. 

It  was  solely,  therefore,  and  avowedly,  in  virtue  of  a  commission  of  the  peace, 
and  not  in  virtue  of  his  office  of  Mayor,  that  the  first  riotous  assembly  was  met 
and  dispersed  by  that  officer. 

Such  being  the  relations  of  his  power,  it  is  obviously,  in  every  occurring  case, 
his  duty  to  decide  upon  his  responsibility,  whether  the  particular  disturbance  is 
of  a  nature  to  justify  him  in  compromitting  the  unquestionable  rights  and  duties 
of  his  office,  in  a  case  of  a  doubtful  character,  by  his  personal  presence ;  or 
whether,  in  the  free  exercise  of  his  discretion,  he  should  leave  their  remedy  to 
the  prescribed  executive  agents  of  the  Commonwealth,  who  can  act  without  any 
censure  from  an  apprehended  illegal  assumption  of  power. 

If  a  case  has  occurred,  or  should  hereafler  occur,  in  which  any  persons 
should,  in  defiance  of  the  moral  sense  and  general  feeling  of  the  public,  adopt 
any  measures,  which  would  naturally  and  almost  unavoidably  lead  to  disorder 
and  disturbances,  they  could  not  reasonably  invoke  the  aid  of  the  authorities  of 
the  city,  so  long  as  the  invited  evil  was  confined  to  themselves  only ;  but  it  is  a 
question  of  very  serious  moment  with  the  inhabitants  of  a  city  so  distinguished 
for  its  religious  and  moral  character,  whether  further  checks  ought  not  to  be 
provided  to  prevent  that,  which  has  been  merely  tolerated,  from  becoming  the 
source  of  disturbances,  of  danger  and  of  disgrace  to  the  citizens,  and  their 
government. 

It  is  my  duty,  only,  to  call  your  attention  to  the  subject,  and  I  shall  cheerfully 
acquiesce  in  your  decision. 

If  the  Mayor  is  to  be  made  responsible  to  act,  in  all  such  cases,  his  powers- 
ought  to  be  accurately  defined  and  his  duties  prescribed  by  law.  The  powers- 
of  the  Mayor  are  sufficient  for  all  municipal  purposes  ;  and  it  is  as  much  his  duty 
to  abstain  from  assuming  to  exercise  powers  not  vested  in  hina  by  his  office,  as,  it 
is  to  exercise  those  powers  with  which  he  is  intrusted. 

Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council :  — 

The  harmony  which  hitherto  has,  without  interruption,  been  maintained 
between  the  departments,  members,  and  branches  of  our  city  government,  is 
among  the  auspicious  auguries  of  the  future  greatness  and  happiness  of  this' 
34 


398  APPENDIX. 

community.  It  will  be  your,  and  my,  endeavor  to  maintain  and  increase  this 
happy  mutual  understanding  and  respect.  But  difficult  questions  concerning 
duties,  made  complex  and  uncertain  by  the  interfering  passions,  interests,  and 
prejudices  existing  in  aU  great  combinations  of  men,  must  necessarily  occur.  On 
occasions  of  this  character,  those  "vvill  be  most  sure  to  find  the  correct  rule  of 
truth  and  duty,  who  seek  it  with  a  sense  of  strict  subordination  to  those  moral 
and  religious  sanctions,  under  which  the  wisdom  of  our  fathers  laid  the  found- 
ations of  the  prosperity  of  this  people. 


(F.    Page  210.) 

THE  MAYOK'S   ESTAUGUKAL  ADDEESS,  JANUARY,    1827. 

Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council-:  — 

It  is  proper,  on  occasions  of  this  kind,  to  survey  the  general  jelations  of  our 
city,  and,  from  the  measures  of  preceding  City  Councils  and  their  results,  to  gain 
light  and  strength  for  future  duties. 

The  condition  of  every  city  must  be  estimated  from  general  circumstances, 
and  particular  facts.  Among  the  former  are  the  state  of  its  population,  whether 
increasing,  or  diminishing ;  the  state  of  its  improvements,  whether  progressive, 
or  stationary ;  above  all,  the  state  of  public  opinion  concerning  the  conduct  of  its 
affairs.  Among  the  latter,  are  the  condition  of  its  finances,  with  reference  to 
debt  and  resources  ;  and  the  condition  of  its  police,  with  reference  to  order,  har- 
mony, and  morals.  The  advance  of  our  city,  in  population  and  improvements, 
requires  no  illustration.  In  respect  of  both,  it  has  been  as  rapid  as  there  was 
any  just  reason  to  expect ;  perhaps,  to  desire.  The  satisfaction  of  our  fellow- 
citizens  with  the  general  conduct  of  their  affairs,  has  been  indicated  by  recent 
events ;  the  language  of  which  cannot  be  mistaken,  and  which  is  at  once  conso- 
latory and  encouraging. 

The  state  of  the  finances  of  our  city  is  not  less  a  subject  of  congratulation. 
Their  condition  has  been,  of  late,  very  fully  developed  by  reports  of  Committees 
of  both  branches  of  the  City  CouncU.  Nothing  more  will  be  necessary,  therefore, 
on  this  occasion,  than  to  present  some  general  views  on  the  subject. 

The  character  of  every  financial  condition  depends  upon  comparison  of  debt 
with  resources.  The  mere  fact  of  the  existence  or  non-existence  of  a  city  debt, 
is  in  itself  neither  a  matter  of  praise  or  blame.  The  right  to  create  such  debt  is 
a  power  granted  by  the  city  charter  to  the  City  Council.  Powers,  granted  to 
public  bodies,  are  like  talents,  bestowed  on  individuals.  Both  are  respectively 
responsible  for  the  neglect,  or  exercise,  of  them.  To  neglect  to  use  the  power 
to  create  a  debt,  or  any  other  power,  on  proper  occasions,  and  for  the  purposes 
for  which  it  was  granted,  is  as  truly  an  abuse,  as  it  is  to  use  either  on  improper 
occasions,  and  for  purposes  for  which  it  was  not  granted. 

Has  a  debt  been  created,  by  public  agents,  having  authority  to  that  effect  ? 
Their  merit,  or  demerit,  in  this  respect,  depends  upon  the  fact  of  its  being  created 


APrENDix.  399 

for  proper  objects,  or  on  a  just  necessity.  If  the  objects  be  of  a  nature,  for 
which  it  is  proper  to  create  a  debt,  then  merit,  or  demerit,  deix'nds  upon  the 
importance  of  the  objects  attained,  compared  with  the  amount  of  the  debt 
created.  If,  by  creating  a  debt  for  such  objects,  resources  adc(piate  to  its  ulti- 
mate discharge  be  also  created,  there  is  no  case,  in  which  the  power  to  create 
a  debt  can  be  more  unexceptionably  exercised ;  nor  can  there  be  any,  more 
indicative  of  the  wisdom  and  financial  skill  of  public  agents ;  excei)t  it  be,  when 
the  resources,  thus  created,  shall  be  adequate,  not  only  to  tlie  ultimate  discharTc 
of  such  debt,  but  also  to  add  a  considerable  surplus  to  the  pubHc  treasuiy. 

The  present  city  debt  may  be  stated  to  be,  in  round  numbers,  one  million  of 
dollars.  Of  which,  one  hundred  thousand  was  incurred  under  the  town  govern- 
ment, and  nine  hundred  thousand  under  the  city.  Of  this  last  amount,  there 
was  incurred,  for  objects  of  general  improvement,  .         .         .      $234,000 

For  the  purchase  of  land  west  of  Charles  Street,  .         .         .  58,000 

For  the  extension  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market,  ....        608,000 


Constituting  the  debt  stated  above  as  incurred  by  the  city  govern- 
ment, of $900,000 

With  respect  to  the  above  portion  of  the  increased  debt,  which  has  been 
applied  to  purposes  of  general  improvement,  it  would,  perhaps,  be  sufficient  to 
remark,  that  the  circumstances  of  the  time,  and  the  nature  of  the  objects,  ren- 
dered the  expenditures  of  this  class  peculiarly  expedient ;  that  the  concurrence 
of  our  fellow-citizens  in  the  measures  adopted  on  this  subject  by  the  City  Coun- 
cil, has  been  indicated  by  unequivocal  tokens  ;  and  those  measures  have,  subse- 
quently, been  sanctioned  by  distinct  marks  of  general  approbation.  It  cannot, 
however,  but  be  satisfactory  to  know  the  amount  of  the  expenditures  for  these 
objects,  which  has  been  already  paid  out  of  the  funds  accruing  within  the  years 
in  which  they  were  authorized,  and  the  comparative  proportion  which  has  been 
cast,  in  the  form  of  debt,  on  future  years. 

During  the  four  last  years,  from  18,23  to  1826,  inclusive,  there  has,  been 
expended 

For  schoolhouses  and  land, $80,000 

"     engines,  engine-houses,  land,  and  all  expenses  of  the   Fire 

Department,  34,000 

"  common  sewers,  beyond  what  they  have  as  yet  produced,  .  15,000 
"  ward-rooms  and  buildings  at  Deer  Island,  ....  5,000 
"     widening  streets,  (exclusive  of  the  operations  of  the  Committee 

for  the  extension  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market,)        .        .        .     106,698 

"     paving  and  repair  of  streets, 119,900 

"    buildings,  and  improvements  connected  with  the  House  of  In- 
dustry, and  Correction, 90,451 

"    reservoirs, 9,000 

Making  a  gross  aggregate  of $460,049 

In  the  above  enumeration,  no  notice  has  been  taken  of  expenditures,  on 
account  of  general  instruction  of  schools,  health,  cleanliness  of  streets,  general       ' 
police,  or  support  of  the  poor,  either  by  the  Overseers,  or  the  Directors  of  the      / 
House  of  Industry.     The  objects  selected  are  those  of  a  permanent  character     * 


400  APPENDIX. 

and  prospective  usefulness,  and  wliicli,  from  their  nature,  BaTe  a  direct  influence 
on  the  convenience  and  hopes  of  future  times.  When,  for  such  objects,  four 
Tiundred  and  sixty  thousand  dollars  have  been  expended  in  a  course  of  four  years, 
of  which  two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  have  been  paid  out  of  funds  accruing 
within  those  four  years,  it  seems  altogether  unexceptionable,  that  a  like  amount 
of  tioo  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  dollars  should  be  distributed,  for  reimburse- 
ment, on  the  years  which  are  to  come. 

The  remaining  objects,  for  which  this  increased  debt  has  been  incurred,  are 
the  lands  at  the  bottom  of  the  Common,  west  of  Charles  Street,  and  the  exten- 
sion of  Faneuil  Hall  IMarket.  In  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  the  last  men- 
tioned subject,  which  was  printed  and  distributed  through  the  city  by  order  of 
the  last  City  Council,  it  is,  I  apprehend,  satisfactorily  shown,  that  the  "fair  esti- 
mated value  of  the  property  transferred  to  or  vested  in  the  city  by  that  Commit- 
tee is,  in  point  of  amount,  not  far  short  of  the  whole  debt  of  the  city.  If  to  this 
be  added  the  fair  estimated  value  of  the  lands  west  of  Charles  Street,  no  man 
can  reasonably  question  that  both  descriptions  of  property  are,  of  themselves, 
alone  sufficient  to  discharge  the  whole  debt  of  the  city,  and  also  to  add  no  incon- 
siderable, probably  a  large,  surplus  to  the  City  Treasury.  Both,  as  available 
resources,  have  been  attained  by  the  operations  of  former  City  Councils.  Both 
have  been  chief  causes  of  the  greatness  of  the  increase  of  the  city  debt. 

To  this  it  is  no  answer  to  say,  that  the  property,  both  in  the  Market  and  in 
the  land  west  of  Charles  Street,  has  A'ery  intimate  relations  to  the  ornament, 
comfort,  and  health  of  the  city,  and  ought  never  to  be  sold.  Grant  such  to  be 
the  fact ;  it  only  shows,  that,  while  the  marketable  value  of  this  property  is 
demonstrably  more  than  the  whole  city  debt,  its  value  to  the  city  is  still  greater 
than  its  marketable  value.  Whereby  the  wisdom  and  fidelity  of  former  City 
Councils  is  still  more  apparent ;  being  evidenced,  not  only  by  the  excess  of  the 
marketable  value  of  this  property  beyond  the  city  debt,  but  also  by  the  great 
excess  of  its  value  to  the  city,  considered  as  a  property  to  be  retained,  over  its 
value,  considered  as  a  property  to  be  sold.  It  seems  scarcely  possible,  that  any 
public  debt  can  be  justified  on  stronger  grounds,  than  can  the  whole  which  the 
city  government  has  incurred.  It  has  been  for  proper  objects.  It  has  been 
faithfully  applied.  It  has  created  resources  sufficient,  if  the  City  Council  choose 
so  to  use  them,  to  discharge  forthwith  not  only  the  whole  debt  of  which  they  have 
been  the  cause,  but  also  the  whole  antecedently  existing  debt  of  the  city.  If  the 
City  Council  do  not  choose  so  to  use  them,  it  is  because,  in  their  sound  discre- 
tion, they  believe  them  to  be  more  valuable  as  a  possession  than  as  a  resource. 
No  better  evidence  can  be  given  of  financial  skill  and  representative  fidelity. 

In  relation  to  our  police,  it  is  not  to  be  expected,  that  a  city  with  a  population 
equal  to  ours  can  exist,  with  fewer  interruptions  of  its  peace,  or  violations  of  its 
municipal  rules.  Complaints,  under  every  branch  of  police,  have  diminished  in 
a  very  extraordinary  degree  during  the  past  year.  Those  parts  of  the  city  most 
characterized  by  tendency  to  vice  and  disorder,  have,  by  the  vigilance  of  the 
public  officers,  been  kept  in  a  state  of  comparative  order,  satisfactory  to  the  good 
citizens  in  their  vicinity. 

Looking  forward  to  the  duties  of  the  coming  year,  it  is  a  subject  of  congratu- 
lation, that  the  foresight  and  enterprise  of  past  years  have  limited  to  compara- 
tively a  narrow  sphere  the  necessity  of  future  expenditures.      Those   gi'eat. 


APPENDIX.  4Q2 

obvious,  and  expensive  improvements,  paving  the  Neck,  reducing  Pemberton'g 
Hill,  widening  Court  Street,  the  Roebuck  Passage,  and  Merchants'  Row ;  above 
all  those,  relieving  the  embarrassments  resulting  from  the  narrowness  of  the 
great  central  Market  of  the  city,  are  finished.  The  City  Councils  of  former 
years  have  taken  the  responsibility  of  exercising  the  powers  intrusted  to  them, 
with  a  fearless  and  independent  spirit ;  exhibiting  a  confidence  in  the  virtue  and 
intelligence  of  their  fellow-citizens,  which  events  have  shown  not  to  have  been 
misplaced. 

I  do  not  perceive  that  the  City  Council  of  the  present  year  will  be  called,  by 
the  public  interest,  to  take  the  lead  in  any  new  and  expensive  project.  Parti- 
cular local  improvements  will  be  suggested,  from  time  to  time,  by  those  interested 
in  their  success,  and  will  receive  from  the  City  Council  that  attention  they  may 
respectively  merit.  Circumstances  indicate,  that  our  chief  duty  will  be  to  finish 
what  we  have  begun ;  to  make  productive  the  property  we  have  acquired ;  to 
improve  and  correct  existing  establishments,  rather  than  to  devise  new  ones ; 
above  all,  to  arrange  our  resources  on  the  principle  of  a  distinct  and  permanent 
provision  for  the  gradual  extinction  of  the  existing  city  debt.  Circumstances 
seem  favorable  to  such  a  system.  At  present,  the  proceeds  of  the  city  lands, 
when  sold,  with  the  addition  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  to  be  applied  annually  to 
the  redemption  of  the  capital,  and  another  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  to  be 
applied  annually  to  the  payment  of  the  interest  of  the  city  debt,  constitute  the 
general  appropriations  for  those  objects.  The  specific  appropriation  for  the  same 
objects,  of  the  whole  property  and  incomes  transferred  to  the  city  by  the  Com- 
mittee for  the  extension  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market  is,  in  my  judgment,  a  measure 
of  great  propriety  and  expediency  ;  and  I  recommend  it.  Upon  general  prin- 
ciples, it  is  proper,  not  to  consider  property  obtained  by  debt  as  property ;  that 
is,  as  a  subject  of  complete  ownership,  and  applicable  to  general  objects  of 
expenditure,  until  the  debt  for  which  it  was  incurred  is  paid.  It  is  expedient, 
because  such  a  measure  would,  I  know,  give  great  satisfaction  to  many  of  our 
very  judicious  fellow-citizens. 

'  Should  a  measure  such  as  I  suggest  be  adopted,  it  would  be  right,  perhaps,  to 
withdraw  one  of  the  sums  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  at  present  appropriated  for 
the  debt,  by  way  of  ofiset  for  the  old  market  revenues.  The  remaining  fifteen 
thousand  dollars,  with  the  present  Faneuil  HaU  Market  and  wharf  revenues, 
will  constitute  an  annual  amount  of  fifty-eight  thousand  dollars,  applicable  to  the 
discharge  of  the  principal  and  interest  of  the  debt ;  and,  with  the  proceeds  of 
the  Neck  lands  and  of  the  lands  now  to  be  sold,  transferred  to  the  city  by  the 
Faneuil  Hall  Market  Committee,  wiU  make  a  sufficient  provision  for  the  city 
debt,  and  relieve  the  annual  resources  of  the  city  from  future  burden  on  that 
-account. 

Should  these  funds  be  placed  under  the  supervision  of  commissioners,  com- 
posed of  public  officers,  ex  officio,  appointed  by  the  City  Council,  it  would  give 
a  more  permanent  and  efficient  character  to  the  system,  without  creating  any 
new  office  or  expense.  Where  funds  are  vested  in  a  board,  exclusively  charged 
with  these  duties,  it  is  found,  by  experience,  to  introduce  order  and  distinctness 
into  financial  relations.  Their  general  state  is  more  easily  comprehended  by  the 
community,  and  the  productive  efficiency  of  the  funds  is  less  likely  to  be  dis- 
turbed or  diverted,  by  general  and  extraneous  financial  exigencies. 
34* 


402  APPENDIX. 

Among  the  objects  to  which  I  aUude,  under  the  heads  of  finishing  what  we 
have  begun,  and  of  making  productive  the  property  we  have  acquired,  are  the 
making  sale  of  the  lands  above-mentioned,  invested  in  the  city  by  the  Committee 
for  the  extension  of  Faneuil  Hall  Market,  and  which,  to  whatever  objects  the 
proceeds  are  appropriated,  ought  not  long  to  be  delayed ;  and  the  putting  to  use 
parts  of  Faneuil  Hall,  formerly  occupied  as  a  market. 

In  this  connection,  I  am  irresistibly  impelled  to  express  opinions,  which  I  would 
willingly  avoid,  inasmuch  as  I  have  reason  to  fear  they  may  be  at  variance  with 
those  of  men,  whose  judgments  I  respect,  and  cross  interests  or  views,  with 
which  I  have  certainly  no  wish  to  interfere.  But  the  city  charter,  by  making  it 
the  duty  of  the  Mayor,  from  time  to  time,  to  recommend  "  all  such  measures  as 
may  tend  to  improve  the  finances,  the  police,  health,  security,  cleanUness,  com- 
fort, and  ornament  of  the  city,"  intended  that,  in  fulfiUing  this  dut}",  he  should 
folloAv  the  deliberate  convictions  of  his  own  judgment.  To  him  who  holds  this 
office,  and  who  acts  in  relation  to  it  upon  right  principles,  it  ought  to  be  of  no 
consequence  whatever,  so  far  as  respects  himself,  whether  any  particular  measure 
he  recommends  be  or  be  not  adopted.  But,  it  will  always  be  of  infinite  moment 
to  his  sense  of  well-performed  duty,  that  his  deliberate  views  of  the  interests  of 
the  city  shoiild  be  known ;  and,  fearlessly  of  all  personal  consequences,  made 
manifest. 

Under  these  sanctions,  I  recommend  that  the  subject  of  the  uses,  to  which  the 
vacated  portions  of  Faneuil  Hall  and  of  the  space  on  its  western  end  shall  be 
applied,  should  be  considered  in  connection  with  the  sale  and  uses,  proposed  to 
be  made  of  the  land,  lying  in  the  rear  of  this  (the  county)  court-house,  and 
between  it  and  Court  Street. 

This  last-mentioned  tract  of  land  is  a  most  valuable  property.  It  cannot, 
however,  be  made  to  produce  its  market  worth,  without  previously  providing 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  courts,  which  occupy  the  building  at  present  in 
front  of  that  land. 

This  subject  has  hitherto  been  considered  as  a  distinct  concern  ;  and,  as  such, 
it  has  been  proposed  to  erect  another  court-house  on  that  Y>art  of  the  land  which 
lies  most  distant  from  Court  Street,  at  an  estimated  expense  of  certainly  not  less 
than  thirty  thousand  dollars,  exclusive  of  the  value  of  the  land  to  be  occupied  by 
the  building,  which,  at  the  least  fair  estimate,  cannot  also  be  worth  less  than  ten 
thousand  dollars. 

The  vacated  parts  of  Faneuil  HaU  have  also  been  considered  as  a  distinct 
subject ;  and  as  such  it  has  been  proposed,  that  they  should  be  fitted  up  for  shops 
and  stores  also,  at  a  very  considerable  expense. 

Should  these  plans  be  carried  into  effect,  the  consequence  will  be,  that  the 
city  will  possess  two  expensive  court-houses,  in  the  vicinity  of  each  other  ;  and 
•the  city  authorities  Avill  be  left  as  occupants  of  an  inconvenient  and  insufficient 
■portion  of  one  of  them,  under  circumstances,  with  which  it  is  impossible  tlicy  can 
be  for  many  years  content.  If  the  present  opportunity  be  lost,  of  making  a 
simple  and  economical  arrangement,  both  of  the  public  oflices  and  of  the  courts, 
■such  as  the  nature  and  relations  of  this  property  seem  unequivocally  to  indicate, 
I  cannot  cpestion,  that,  before  a  very  few  years  elapse,  the  City  Council  will 
■find  themselves  compelled  to  erect,  at  a  great  expense,  a  City  Hall ;  which 
expense,  by  taking  advantage  of  the  present  occasion,  may  be  saved. 


I 


APPENDIX.  403 

Nothing  can  be  more  inconvenient,  for  facilitating  business,  than  the  location 
of  our  public  offices.  The  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  City  Clerk,  Auditor,  and 
Officer  of  Police,  are  in  one  building.  The  Assistant  City  Clerk  in  another. 
The  Treasurer,  in  a  third.  The  Assessors,  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  and  Directors 
of  the  House  of  Industry,  in  a  fourth.  Neither  building  convenient  as  it  respects 
the  other.  Now  the  interest  of  the  city  plainly  dictates,  that  tlie  intercourse 
between  these  different  departments  of  public  service  should  be  made  easy  by 
every  possible  local  acconmiodatlon.  By  concentrating  them  under  one  roof, 
they  would  always  be  in  a  position  mutually  to  derive  and  communicate  infoi-m- 
ation ;  and  occasionally  to  aid  each  other,  in  case  of  pressure  of  public  business 
in  either  department ;  thereby  greatly  increasing  power,  knowledge,  and  facility 
in  conducting  it. 

Besides,  not  one  of  our  public  city  offices  is  possessed  of  a  fire-proof  place  of 
deposit.  All  the  records  of  the  city  are  exposed  without  any  except  the  most 
common  security,  against  the  most  destructive  of  all  elements. 

These  circumstances  strongly  impress  my  mind  with  the  duty  of  recommend- 
ing that  all  these  important  subjects  should  be  considered  in  one  general,  con- 
nected view. 

With  respect  to  the  location  of  the  City  Council  and  city  offices,  I  conceive 
there  can  be  no  place  more  suitable  than  Faneuil  Plall.  Since  the  removal  of 
the  Market  and  the  widening  of  Merchants'  Row  and  the  Eoebuck  Passage,  the 
objection  on  account  of  noise  In  the  vicinity  of  that  building  is  greatly  obviated  ; 
and  will  be  more,  if  not  wholly,  as  soon  as  by  carrying  into  effect  the  proposed 
Marginal  Street,  the  heavy  city  and  country  travel  from  Long  Wharf  and  State 
Street  to  the  northei'n  parts  of  the  city,  shall  be  determined  through  that  avenue. 
Besides,  the  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  being  chiefly,  and  those  of  the 
Common  Council,  with  few  exceptions,  wholly  in  the  evening,  they  would  be  but 
little  exposed  to  interruption  from  that  cause. 

I  say  nothing,  concerning  the  natural  and  proud  associations  inseparable  from 
that  ancient  and  far-famed  temple  of  American  liberty,  because,  should  other 
considerations  justify,  it  is  impossible  therQ  can  be,  on  this  subject,  more  than,  one 
sentiment  and  feeling  among  citizens  of  Boston,  and  that  deeply  favorable  to  the 
connecting,  by  an  intimate  and  perpetual  union,  all  future  municipal  labors  and 
character,  with  a  place,  consecrated  by  the  patriotic  services  of  our  chiefest 
statesmen,  and  endeared  by  recollections  of  talents  and  virtues,  which  have 
identified  the  name  of  this  city  with  the  earliest,  the  purest,  and  the  most  impe- 
rishable honors  of  our  revolution. 

In  regard  to  economy,  this  consideration  will  favor  the  course  I  suggest.  A 
building,  capable  of  accommodating  all  the  city  oflices,  with  suitable  and  separate 
.rooms  and  fire-proofs,  the  ]\Iayor,  Aldermen,  and  Common  Council,  with  their 
respective  halls  and  committee-rooms,  may,  I  have  reason  ,to  beUeve,  be  erected, 
on  the  western  end  of  Faneuil  Hall,  at  probably  a  less  expense,  but  certainly  for 
a  sum  not  materially  greater,  than  the  proposed  new  Court  House ;  and,  at  a  com- 
paratively small  expense,  probably  not  more  than  the  value  of  the  land  necessaiy 
to  be  occupied  by  the  proposed  new  Court  House,  a  room,  as  extensive  in  point 
of  size  as  that  at  present  occupied  by  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court,  might  be 
prepared  in  this  building,  (the  county  Court  House,)  for  the  courts  of  the  United 
States;  and  the  present  room,  occupied  by  the   Common  Council,  might  be 


404  APPENDIX. 

reserved  for  the  Common  Pleas.  At  any  rate,  when  it  is  considered,  that  this 
is  the  only  mode  in  which  the  public  offices  can  be  concentrated  under  one  roof, 
except  at  the  expense  of  a  new  City  Hall,  the  evidence  in  favor  of  its  economy  is 
decisive.  By  a  plan  of  this  kind,  the  higher  courts  of  the  State,  and  those  of  the 
United  States,  wUl  be  located  in  one  building;  the  city  authorities,  with  the 
public  offices,  in  another ;  and  the  whole  land  in  the  rear  of  this  (the  county) 
Court  House,  and  between  it  and  Court  Street  wOl  be  left,  without  incumbrance 
or  diminution,  at  the  disposal  of  the  City  CouncU. 

I  have  been  thus  particular  in  detailing  my  views  on  this  subject,  because  1 
deem  the  result  of  the  deliberations  of  the  City  Council  upon  it,  to  be  very 
important,  in  its  character  and  consequences.  Having  conscientiously  discharged 
my  own  duty,  I  cheerfully  leave  the  subject  to  the  City  Council,  with  a  certainty 
that  they  will  do  theirs ;  and  give  as  much  weight  to  these  suggestions  as  their 
nature  deserves,  and  no  more.  Whether  they  coincide  or  differ  with  me  in 
opinion,  I  shall  equally  respect  and  support  their  decision. 

It  is  known  to  the  City  Council,  that  great  complaints  have  lately  existed, 
concerning  the  state  of  the  voting  lists.  In  relation  to  the  duty  of  preparing 
those  lists,  and  of  responsibility  for  their  correctness,  the  general  opinion  was 
understood  to  be,  that  the  provisions  of  the  city  charter  had  made  no  change,  but 
that,  as  under  the  town  government,  that  duty  and  responsibility  rested  on  the 
Assessors.  The  Mayor  and  Aldermen  have,  accordingly,  heretofore  acted  under 
that  impression;  and  considered  their  duty  to  be  only  that  of  revising  and 
amending  errors  which  might  occur  in  the.A'oting  lists  furnished  by  the  Assessors. 

Antecedent  to  the  last  election,  in  consequence  of  a  communication  from  the 
Assessors,  the  tenor  and  precise  bearing  of  the  terms  of  the  city  charter  on  this 
subject,  were  broiight  under  the  distinct  consideration  of  the  Mayor  and  Alder- 
men. By  that  connnunication  it  appeared  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Assessors, 
"  the  duty  of  making  out  the  voting  lists"  was  devolved  by  the  city  charter  on  the 
Mayor  and  Aldermen ;  and  that  the  duty  of  the  "  Assessors,  Assistant  Assessors, 
and  other  officers  of  the  city,"  was  to  aid  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  duty,  as  they  might  direct. 

Although  this  construction  did  not  coincide  with  former  practice,  or  pre- 
conceptions, the  Board  of  Aldermen  immediately  adjourned  to  the  Assessors' 
room,  and  proceeded,  by  a  committee,  to  execute  the  duty,  according  to  the 
literal  construction  given  to  the  charter  by  the  Assessors ;  and,  calling  in  aid 
some  of  the  Assistant  Assessors  and  other  officers  of  the  city,  in  addition  to  the 
aid  given  by  the  Assessors  themselves,  they  caused  lists,  additional  to  the  printed 
lists,  to  be  made  out  and  transmitted  to  the  wards ;  a  course  of  proceeding  wluch 
has,  as  far  as  has  come  to  my  knowledge,  given  general  satisfaction,  and  obviated 
every  difficulty  which  had  been  the  source  of  complaint  at  former  elections. 

The  view  taken  by  the  Assessors,  of  the  city  chartei-,  is,  as  I  understand,  as 
follows.  The  responsibility,  that  correct  lists  are  made  out,  rests  upon  the  Mayor 
and  Aldermen.  As  incident  to  this  responsibility,  it  is  incumbent  on  them  to 
direct  the  time,  manner,  and  form  of  making  out  the  voting  lists.  By  the  pro- 
visions of  the  city  charter,  they  have  a  right  to  require  the  aid  of  the  Assessors, 
which  aid  it  is  their  duty  to  give.  By  this  construction,  it  Is  not  understood  that 
the  Assessors  claim  to  be  exempted  from  the  actual  labor  of  making  out  the 
voting  lists,  nor  yet  from  the  duty  of  comparing  them-  with  their  books,  and 


APPENDIX.  405 

certifying  their  correctness ;  but  only  that,  so  far  as  respects  their  fcllow-eltizens, 
the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  are  responsible  that  it  shall  bo  done,  and  in  proper 
time,  form,  and  manner  ;  and  that  the  Assessors  are  responsiljlc  to  them  and  to 
the  City  Council,  that  whatever  aid  they  shall,  on  this  sulyoct,  be  required  to 
give,  shall  be  faithfully  yielded. 

Although  I  know,  that  there  is  not  an  universal  assent  to  this  construction  of 
the  city  charter,  yet,  as  above  expressed  and  explained,  I  deem  it  my  duty  not 
to  conceal  my  own  concurrence  with  it.  It  seems  to  me  not  only  just,  as  a  matter 
of  construction,  but  that  such  oiight  to  be  the  provisions  of  the  city  charter,  is 
wise  and  expedient,  as  a  matter  of  principle.  It  is  vital  to  the  rights  of  election, 
that  the  voting  lists  should  be  correct.  The  duty  of  seeing,  that  so  essential  an 
Interest  is  secured,  should  be  intrusted  only  with  the  highest  executive  author- 
ities of  the  city ;  and  those  who  are  responsible  directly  to  their  feUow-citizens, 
through  the  process  of  election. 

In  conformity  to  the  obligation  resulting  from  this  opinion,  the  Board  of 
Aldermen  have  constituted  the  Mayor  a  committee  to  superintend  the  making 
out  the  voting  lists,  antecedent  to  the  ensuing  spring  elections.  Under  that 
authority,  voting  lists  are  now  making  out,  by  the  Assessors,  In  a  new,  and,  it  is 
hoped,  a  more  convenient  form. 

By  this  construction  of  the  city  charter  it  Is  not  apprehended,  that  the  labors 
of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  will  be,  In  any  material  degree,  increased.  The 
gratuitous  labors  of  that  Important  body  of  men,  who  have  hitherto  fulfilled  their 
duties  In  a  manner  so  exemplary,  ought  by  every  possible  precautionary  mea- 
sure to  be  diminished,  In  order  to  remove  objections  to  the  acceptance  of  that 
laborious  and  responsible  office.  But  the  duty  of  general  superintendence  and 
direction,  the  exercise  of  a  sound  judgment  concerning  all  the  great  municipal 
relations  of  the  city,  and  particularly  concerning  those  which  most  immediately 
affect  the  elective  franchise,  naturally  belongs  to  that  board ;  and,  in  this  case, 
seems  to  result  from  the  express  terms  of  the  city  charter. 

Considering  the  Importance  of  the  subject,  and  knowing  that  misapprehen- 
sions existed  In  relation  to  It  in  the  community,  I  have  deemed  the  preceding 
development  due  to  all  concerned ;  to  the  Assessors,  as  well  as  to  our  fellow- 
citizens. 

I  cannot  close  this  address,  without  expressing  my  gratitude  for  the  support 
yielded  to  me,  by  the  recent  suffrages  of  my  fellow-citizens,  under  circum- 
stances, which  put  to  a  severe  trial  their  justice  and  their  confidence.  The 
right  to  canvass  the  character  and  conduct  of  all  tenants  of  public  office  and 
candidates  for  It,  Is  essential  to  the  existence  of  a  republic,  and  Inseparable  from 
its  nature.  So  long  as  such  animadversions  are  conducted  in  a  spirit  of  can- 
dor and  decorum,  so  long  as  care  Is  taken  to  assert  nothing  but  what  is  ti'ue,  and 
to  insinuate  nothing  which  circumstances  do  not  justify  ;  In  a  word,  so  long  as 
they  proceed  In  subordination  to  that  sublime  rule  of  Christian  charity  of  domg 
to  others,  as,  In  exchange  of  circumstances,  we  would  wish  and  think  right,  that 
others  should  do  to  us,  they  are  not  only  to  be  justified,  but  to  be  encouraged 
and  applauded. 

If,  In  any  respect,  this  just  measure  of  animadversion  has  been  exceeded  in 
times  past,  or  shall  be  in  times  future,  so  far  as  the  present  Incumbent  of  this 
office  Is  concerned.  It  will  be,  as  it  has  been,  left  to  the  free  decision  of  the 


406  APPENDIX. 

virtue,  intelligence,  and  higli  sense  of  justice  of  the  Inhabitants  of  tliis  city, 
without  interposition,  by  him,  directly  or  indirectly,  of  reply  or  defence. 

He,  who  rightly  appreciates  the  nature  of  this  office,  will  consider  it  neither  as 
a  place  for  pageantry  and  display,  nor  yet  as  a  vantage-ground  for  the  vaulting 
of  unsatisfied  ambition,  still  less  as  a  station  for  seeking  private  ends,  for  advanc- 
ing personal  or  local  interests,  or  for  the  distributing  party  favors ;  but  as  a  con- 
dition of  laborious  service,  including  the  performance  of  very  difficult,  and  often 
very  dubious  duties,  chiefly  to  be  valued  for  the  opportimity  it  affiards  of  useful- 
ness, and  no  longer  to  be  desired  than  he  shall  be  able  to  deserve  and  attain  the 
confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens,  by  a  diligent  and  faithful  upholding  of  the  true 
interests  of  the  city,  and  by  -a  fearless  maintaining  of  every  essential  principle 
of  pubhc  virtue  and  honor  in  the  conduct  of  its  affairs. 


(G.    Page  229.) 

THE   mayor's   inaugural   ADDRESS,   JANUARY,    1828. 

Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council :  — 

We  assemble  under  circumstances  of  great  municipal  prosperity,  and  with 
very  decisive  evidences  of  the  content  of  our  fellow-citizens  with  the  general 
conduct  of  their  affairs.  A  brief  recurrence  to  a  few  of  the  principal  relations 
of  our  city,  will,  however,  be  useful,  and  tend  to  strengthen  pubhc  satisfaction 
and  confidence. 

During  the  first  years  of  the  city  government,  its  attention  was  natiirally 
directed  to  important  local  improvements,  and  to  the  enlarging  of  our  means  of 
protection  against  the  dangers  to  which  all  great  cities  are  subject,  and  which 
the  form  of  the  ancient  government  was  not  well  calculated  to  effect.  The 
number  and  greatness  of  these  improvements  and  preparations,  together  with 
the  short  period  in  which  they  were  executed,  led  necessarily  to  the  creation  of 
debt,  on  a  scale  which  excited,  in  some  minds,  apprehensions ;  cautious  men 
began  to  fear  lest  an  increase  of  debt  would  become  the  habit  of  the  city  govern- 
ment. The  experience  of  the  past  year  has  shown,  that  it  is  no  less  willing  to 
adopt  and  enforce  a  rigid  system  of  economy,  than  the  practice  of  preceding 
years  had  shown  it  to  be  capable  of  using,  on  proper  occasions,  the  public  credit. 
The  appropriations  made  at  the  commencement  of  the  last  year  have  been 
respected,  with  an  exemplary  strictness.  None  have  as  yet  been  exceeded.  To 
one  or  two,  additions  will  be  required ;  but  in  every  instance,  it  is  believed,  it 
will  be  found  that  they  have  been  occasioned  by  circumstances,  accidental  in 
their  nature,  and  not  within  the  control  of  the  expending  authority ;  and  that 
they  can  be  supplied  by  the  transfer  of  the  surplus,  existing  in  other  appropria- 
tions. There  can  scarcely  be  expected,  in  any  future  year,  a  greater  exactness 
in  this  respect  than  the  past  has  exhibited. 

The  measures  adopted  by  the  last  City  Council  to  give  a  permanent  and 
efficient  character  to  the  reduction  of  the  city  debt,  have  been  attended  with  all 


APPENDIX, 


407 


the  success  whicli  was  anticipated.  Before  the  cun-ent  financial  year  closes 
more  than  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  the  preexistin<r  city  debt  will  be 
discharged.  It  requires  only  a  steady  perseverance  in  the  same  system,  to  T)lace 
the  resources  of  the  city  on  an  enviable  and  satisfactory  foundation 

The  diminution  of  the  number  of  complaints  In  every  branch  of  police,  indi- 
cates a  very  general  content  with  its  administration.  In  no  prcccdino-  year  has 
the  general  order  been  better  maintained.  Nor,  in  a  population  so  great,  and 
rapidly  increasing,  can  it  be  expected  that  vice  and  crime  should  be  less  obtru- 
sive, or  more  restrained. 

It  is  a  subject  of  congratulation,  that  the  new  arrangements  in  our  health 
department,  whereby  responsibility  and  efficiency  have  been  endeavored  to  be 
obtained  by  the  concentration  of  its  powers  in  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  the  health 
physician  and  police  officer,  should  have  resulted  in  such  apparent  advantage. 
Notwithstanding  a  constant  and  increasing  Intercourse  with  HaUfax,  a  city 
suffering  under  the  most  malign  form  of  the  smallpox,  —  notwithstanding  the 
same  disorder  has  been  brought  to  this  city  In  repeated  instances,  from  that  and 
from  other  cities,  —  and  notwithstanding  it  has  appeared  with  some  activity  in 
towns  In  our  immediate  vicinity,  yet  by  the  vigilance  of  the  health  department 
every  occurring  case  has  been  detected,  insulated,  or  removed.  Until  the  last 
week,  no  instance  of  its  having  been  communicated  within  this  city,  is  known  or 
suspected.  The  circumstances  of  that  week  have  been  the  subject  of  a  public 
official  statement.  Since  that  publication,  only  one  case  has  occurred,  and  that 
has  been  promptly  removed  to  the  island.  Nor  is  any  case  now  known,  or 
believed  to  exist  within  the  city. 

Although  great  credit  is  due  to  the  health  physician  and  police  officer,  for 
their  vigUance  and  activity,  yet  it  cannot  be  questioned  that  their  labors  have 
been  diminished  and  their  success  facilitated  by  the  general  vaccination,  which 
took  place  under  the  authority  of  former  City  Councils. 

The  state  of  the  hospital  at  Rainsford's  Island,  and  its  general  police,  so  far  as 
depends  on  the  health  physician  and  island  keeper,  is  very  satisfactory.  AppU- 
catlons  from  the  local  authority  of  several  towns  in  this  vicinity,  to  transfer  their 
infected  citizens  to  that  establishment,  have  been  promptly  granted.  The  wil- 
lingness with  which  those  citizens  have  permitted  themselves  to  be  thus  trans- 
ferred, and  even  the  desire,  exhibited  by  some  of  them,  who  were  individuals 
of  great  respectablUty  in  their  respective  towns,  to  avail  of  this  privilege,  in 
preference  to  remaining  insulated  in  their  pwn  vicinity,  strongly  indicates  the 
satisfaction  of  the  public  with  that  estabhshment,  and  their  confidence  in  the 
professional  ability  with  which  it  is  conducted. 

-The  general  state  of  the  health  of  the  city  is  not  only  a  subject  of  devout 
thankfulness,  but  is  also  a  circmnstance  not  to  be  omitted.  In  estimating  tlie 
effects  of  the  general  arrangements  of  its  police.  Tables,  founded  on  the  bills 
of  mortality  of  this  city,  and  constructed  on  the  usual  principles,  show  that  for 
the  four  years  past,  from  1824  to  1827  inclusive,  the  annual  average  proportion 
of  deaths  to  population  has  not  only  been  less  than  that  in  any  antecedent  year, 
but  it  is  believed  less  than  that  of  any  other  city  of  equal  population  on  record. 

The  bills  of  mortality  of  this  place,  and  calculations  made  on  them  for  the 
eleven  years,  from  1813  to  1823,  Inclusive,  show,  that  the  annual  average  pro- 
portion of  deaths  to  population  was  about  one  in  forty-two. 


408  APPENDIX, 

Similar  estimates  on  tlie  bills  of  mortality  of  this  city  since  1823,  show,  that 
this  annual  aYerage  proportion  was  for  the  four  years,  from  1824  to  1827  inclu- 
sive, less  than  one  m  forty-eight ;  for  the  three  years  from  1825  to  1827  inclusive, 
less  than  one  in  fifty;  for  the  two  years  from  1826  to  1827  inclusive,  less  than 
one  m.  fifty-five ;  and  for  the  last  year,  1827,  scarcely  one  in  sixty-three. 

Upon  the  usual  estimates  of  this  nature,  a  city  of  equal  population,  in  which 
this  annual  average  should  not  exceed  one  in  forty-seven  would  be  considered  as 
enjoying  an  extraordinary  degree  of  health. 

Calculations  of  this  kind  are  necessarily  general,  and  exactness  in  precise 
results,  owing  to  the  uncertainty  in  the  annual  increase  of  population,  cannot  be 
expected.  Enough  appears,  however,  from  unquestionable  data,  to  justify  the 
position,  that,  since  the  year  1823,  this  city  has  enjoyed  an  uncommon  and 
gradually  increasing  state  of  general  health,  and  that  for  the  last  two  years  it  has 
been  unexamjDled. 

It  will  be  recollected  by  the  City  Council,  that,  in  the  year  1823,  a  systematic 
cleansing  of  the  city,  and  removal  of  noxious  animal  and  vegetable  substances 
was  adopted  under  their  auspices,  and  have  been  persevered  in  to  this  period, 
with  no  inconsiderable  trouble  and  expense.  Now,  although  it  would  be  too 
much  to  attribute  the  whole  of  this  important  improvement  in  the  general  health 
of  this  city  to  these  measures,  yet  when  a  new  system  was  at  that  period  adopted, 
having  for  its  express  object  this  very  effect,  —  the  prevention  of  disease,  by  an 
efficient  and  timely  removal  of  nuisances,  it  is  just  and  reasonable  to  claim  for 
those  preventive  measures,  and  credit  to  them,  a  portion  of  that  freedom  from 
disease,  which  has,  subsequently  to  their  adoption,  resulted,  in  a  degree,  so  very 
extraordinary.  It  is  proper  to  adduce  this  state  of  things,  by  way  of  encourage- 
ment to  persevere  in  a  system,  which  has  its  foundation  iii  the  plainest  principles 
of  nature  and  reason,  and  which  is  so  apparently  justified  by  effects. 

I  am  thus  distinct  in  alluding  to  this  subject,  because  the  removal  of  the 
nuisances  of  a  city  is  a  laborious,  difficult,  and  repulsive  service,  requiring  much 
previous  arrangement,  and  constant  "vngilance,  and  is  attended  with  frequent 
disappointment  of  endeavors ;  whence  it  happens,  that  there  is  a  perpetual 
natural  tendency,  in  those  intrusted  with  municipal  affairs,  to  throw  the  trouble 
and  responsibility  of  it  upon  subordinate  agents  and  contractors,  and  very  plau- 
sible arguments  of  economy  may  be  adduced  in  favor  of  such  a  system.  But,  if 
experience  and  reflection  have  given  certainty  to  my  mind  upon  any  subject,  it  is 
upon  this :  that  upon  the  right  conduct  of  this  branch  of  police,  the  executive  powers 
of  a  city  should  be  made  directly  responsible,  more  than  for  any  other ;  and  that 
it  can  never,  for  any  great  length  of  time,  be  executed  well,  except  by  agents 
under  its  immediate  control,  and  whose  labors  it  may  command,  at  all  times,  in 
any  way,  which  the  necessities  continually  varying,  and  often  imj^ossible  to  be 
anticipated,  of  a  city,  in  this  respect,  require. 

In  the  whole  sphere  of  municipal  duties,  there  are  none  more  important  than 
those  which  relate  to  the  removal  of  those  substances,  whose  exhalations  inju- 
riously affect  the  air.  A  pure  atmosphere  is  to  a  city,  what  a  good  conscience 
is  to  an  individual ;  a  pei-petual  source  of  comfort,  tranquillity,  and  self-respect. 

The  general  confidence  resulting  from  our  Fire  Department  is  an  ample  justi- 
fication of  the  great  expenditures  which  have  been  made,  in  bringing  it  to  that 
state  of  preparation  and  efficiency,  in  which  it  now  exists.     Besides  the  sense 


APPENDIX. 


409 


of  security  it  has  induced,  the  direct  pecuniary  gain  to  the  community  is  cai)able 
of  being  very  satisfactorily  estimated.  Since  the  renovation  of  that  (lei)artinent, 
and  its  establishment  on  its  present  footing,  the  rates  of  insurance  on  real  pro- 
perty within  this  city  have  been  reduced  twenty  per  cent.  I  am  authorized  by 
several  presidents  of  our  principal  insurance  oflices  to  state,  that  this  reduction 
has  been  solehj  owing  to  confidence  in  the  present  efficiency  of  that  department 
•The  saving  in  this  reduction  of  premium  alone  is  stated  by  them  not  to  be  less 
on  the  insurable  real  estate  of  this  city  than  ten  thousand  dollars  annually ;  in 
other  words,  it  is  equal  to  a  remuneration,  in  three  years,  for  the  whole  cost  of 
the  department.  It  is  now  distinguished  not  only  for  the  efficiency  of  its 
engines  and  apparatus,  but  by  its  exemplary  spirit  of  discipline.  The  utmost 
harmony  also  exists  among  its  members,  officers,  and  companies. 

The  expediency  and  mode  of  still  farther  extending  our  present  system  of 
pubUc  schools,  so  as  to  embrace  higher  branches  than  those  at  present  taught  in 
them  will,  probably,  in  some  form,  be  brought  before  the  City  Council. 

In  a  city,  which  already  expends  sixty  thousand  dollars  annually  on  its  pubUc 
schools,  which  has  a  capital  of  certainly  not  less  than  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  invested  in  schoolhouses  alone,  and  whose  expenses  under  this  head  must, 
from  the  increasing  nature  of  its  population,  unavoidably  increase  every  year, 
attempts  to  extend  the  existing  system  of  instruction  must  necessarily  give  occa- 
sion to  much  solicitude  and  reflection.  The  great  interest  and  duty  of  society, 
and  its  great  object  in  establishing  public  schools,  is,  to  elevate  as  highly  as 
possible  the  intellectual  and  moral  condition  of  the  mass  of  the  community.  To 
this  end,  our  institutions  ai'e  so  constituted  as  to  put  every  necessary  branch  of 
elementary  instruction  within  the  reach  of  every  citizen,  and  to  infuse,  by  the 
books  read  and  branches  taught  in  them,  similar  general  views  of  duty  and 
morals ;  and  similar  general  principles,  relative  to  social  order,  happiness,  and 
obligation,  throughout  the  whole  society.  Such  is  the  present  general  character 
of  our  common  schools ;  so  called,  because  they  are  the  common  right  and  com- 
mon property  of  every  citizen.  If  other  'and  higher  branches  of  instructioh  are 
to  be  added  to  those  embraced  by  our  present  system  of  pubUc  education,  it 
deserves  serious  consideration,  whether  the  duty  and  interest  of  society  does  not 
require,  that  they  should  be  added  to  our  common  schools,  and  enjoyed  on  the 
same  equal  principles  of  common  right  and  common  property.  In  other  words, 
whether  the  new  branches  shall  not  be  for  the  benefit  of  the  children  of  the 
whole  community,  and  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  children  of  comparatively 
a  few. 

Every  school,  the  admission  to  which  is  predicated  upon  the  principles  of 
•  requiring  higher  attainments,  at  a  specified  age  or  period  of  life,  than  the  mass 
of  children  in  the  ordinary  course  of  school  instruction  at  that  age  or  period  can 
attain,  is  in  fact  a  school  for  the  benefit  of  the  few,  and  not  for  the  benefit  of  the 
many.  Parents,  who,  having  been  highly  educated  themselves  are,  therefore, 
capable  of  forcing  the  education  of  their  own  children ;  parents,  whose  pecuniary 
ability  enables  them  to  educate  their  children  at  private  schools,  or  who  by 
domestic  instruction  are  able  to  aid  their  advancement  in  the  public  schools, 
will  for  the  most  part  enjoy  the  whole  privilege.  In  form  it  may  be  general,  but 
it  will  be  in  fact  exclusive.  The  sound  principle  upon  this  subject  seems  to  be, 
that  the  standard  of  public  education  should  be  raised  to  the  greatest  desirable 
35 


410  APPENDIX. 

and  practicable  height ;  but  that  it  should  be  effected  by  raising  the  standard  of 
our  common  schools.^ 

Among  the  general  principles  of  public  policy,  by  which  the  prosperity  of  cities 
is  effected,  there  is  one,  which,  by  many  of  our  citizens,  and  those  of  great 
wealth  and  respectability,  is  considered  to  be  onerous  and  oppressive,  and  which, 
it  is  thought,  has  a  material  and  injurious  influence  on  the  advancement  of  a  city 
like  ours,  engaged  in  an  active  mercantile  competition  with  intelligent  and  enter- 
prising rival  cities,  in  which  no  such  principle  of  public  policy  exists.  Although 
the  subject  properly  belongs  to  the  sphere  of  State  legislation,  yet  as  the  mis- 
chief is  thought  chiefly  to  affect  this  city,  it  seems  desirable,  and  would  give 
satisfaction  to  a  very  great  class  of  our  fellow-citizens,  to  have  the  practicability 
of  a  change  in  this  principle  submitted  to  the  test  of  a  public  examination. 

I  allude  to  the  system  of  assessing  taxes  on  the  principle  of  an  arbitrary 
valuation,  without  relief. 

Although  the  formal  provisions  of  the  law  are  so  framed  as  to  conceal  the 
character  of  the  principle,  yet  it  is  practically  that  which  I  have  stated.  It  is  a 
valuation  arbitrary  in  its  nature,  and,  in  point  of  fact,  without  relief. 

The  character  of  the  principle  is  concealed  by  the  opportimity  which  is  form- 
ally given  to  every  individual,  if  he  pleases,  to  exhibit  previous  to  assessment, 
perfect  Hsts  of  his  estate.  On  his  neglect  of  this  opportunity  the  right  to  doom, 
that  is,  arbitrarily  to  value  and  assess,  is  assumed  and  justified. 

Now,  it  is  notorious,  that,  in  every  great  mercantile  city,  such  an  exhibit 
would,  if  made  truly,  as  it  respects  many,  be  ruinous ;  that,  as  it  respects  very 
many,  it  is  absolutely  impracticable,  and  that  a  public  annual  development  of 
the  exact  relation  of  his  resources,  would  disastrously  affect  almost  every  man 
of  property  in  society,  either  by  embarrassing  his  operations,  or  by  needlessly 
exposing  his  condition  to  the  curious,  the  envious,  or  the  inimical.  When, 
therefore,  the  law  offers  an  opportunity  to  exhibit  true  lists  of  their  property,  as 
a  privilege  of  which  multitudes  cannot  avail  themselves,  and  which  it  is  the  inte- 
rest of  every  man  in  society  to  reject,  it  offers  a  shadow  and  not  a  substance ;  it  is 
only  a  formal  and  not  a  real  privilege.  And,  when  it  founds  the  right  arbitrarily 
to  assess,  on  the  neglect  of  an  opportunity  of  such  a  chai'acter,  it  exercises  in  effect 
a  despotic  power,  not  the  less  objectionable  on  account  of  its  being  veiled  under 
the  pretence  of  being  justified  by  failure  to  perform  an  impracticable  or  ruinous 
condition.  To  show  that  such  is  the  practical  character  of  this  principle,  it  will 
be  sufficient  simply  to  state,  that  the  last  year  an  uncommon  number  of  per- 
sons and  a  gi'eater  amount  of  property  was  exhibited  in  previous  lists  than  in 
any  antecedent  year  in  this  city,  yet  that  out  of  more  than  twelve  thousand  tax- 
able persons  only  twenty-six  gave  in  such  lists,  and  in  a  city  the  valuation  of 
which  exceeded  sixty-five  thousand  of  dollars,  the  amount  exhibited  in  these 
lists  was  only  four  hundred  and  three  thousand.  A  more  direct  proof,  how  nomi- 
nal and  fallacious  this  privilege  to  exhibit  is  universally  deemed,  could  not  be 
adduced.  It  is,  in  effect,  an  arbitrary  valuation,  and  it  is  without  relief.  For 
if  this  fallacious  privilege  be  neglected,  the  Courts  are  by  statute  provision 
prohibited  from  making  abatements  ;  and  in  our  convention  of  Assessors,  in  all 
cases  above  sixteen  dollars,  it  is  practically  a  settled  principle,  that  such  neglect 
precludes  the  applicant  from  the  privilege  of  abatement. 

Did  the  effect  of  these  principles  terminate  with  the  individual,  it  would  be  of 


APPENDIX.  4X1 

less  importance  ;  but  it  reacts  upon  society,  and  especially  on  a  mercantile  com- 
munity, whose  prosperity  must  necessarily  be  airected  by  it,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree. 

It  should  be  the  settled  policy  of  mercantile  cities  to  allure  and  detain  capital- 
ists. Of  all  classes  of  men,  these  are  the  quickest  to  discern,  and  are  in  a  situa- 
tion the  most  favorable  to  take  advantage  of,  the  relative  principles  which  the 
laws  and  policy  of  different  cities  apply  to  their  condition.  Their  activity,  enter- 
prise, and  capital,  give  life  and  support  to  the  industry  of  the  laboring  and 
mechanic  classes.  Wliatever  drives  capitalists  from  a  city,  or  makes  them 
discontented  with  it,  has  a  direct  tendency  to  deprive  those  classes  of  their  best 
hopes.  Now,  what  can  have  a  more  direct  and  natural  tendency  to  such  an 
effect  than  the  certainty  that  there  is  no  escape  from  an  arbitrary  valuation  and 
assessment,  except  compliance  with  a  condition  which  is  ruinous  to  some,  imprac- 
ticable to  others,  and  repulsive  to  all  ?  Unless  indeed  it  be  a  further  certainty, 
which  in  this  case  also  exists,  that  from  such  an  assessment,  once  made,  there  is 
absolutely  no  hope  of  relief ! 

That  tliis  city  has  lost  important  and  valuable  citizens  and  great  capitalists,  in 
consequence  of  the  operation  of  this  principle,  is  a  known  fact.  How  many  more 
have  been  deterred  from  uniting  their  destinies  with  ours,  and  have  been  led  by 
it  to  place  their  capital  in  employ  in  other  cities,  it  is  not  possible  to  estimate ; 
but  that  there  have  been  such  is  also  positively  known. 

Other  great  cities,  our  neighbors  and  honorable  rivals,  have  no  such  arbitrary 
principle  connected  with  their  system  of  assessment.  Having  opened  a  corre- 
spondence with  the  respective  Mayors  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Balti- 
more on  the  subject,  they  have  each  of  them,  with  great  promptitude  and  polite- 
ness, transmitted  a  transcript  of  the  principles  and  course  of  proceedings  of  their 
respective  cities  in  relation  to  assessments. 

In  all  of  these  cities  there  seems  to  exist  a  general  content  with  the  principle 
on  which  assessment  is  made,  whatever  discontent  may  individually  exist  in  the 
appUcation  of  it.  In  neither  of  them  is  any  exhibit  of  personal  property  required 
antecedent  to  assessment.  In  all  of  them,  previously  to  finally  closing  the  assess- 
ment, an  opportunity  is  given  to  those  who  deem  themselves  aggrieved,  to  be 
heard,  and  to  have  the  assessment  modified,  according  to  the  truth  of  their  case. 

The  subject  has  great  relations.  I  refer  to  it  out  of  respect  to  an  opinion, 
very  general  in  this  city,  that  our  principles  of  taxation  are  injurious  to  its  pros- 
perity. It  is  a  subject  worthy  of  deliberate  consideration,  and  an  examination 
into  it  would  give  to  many  good  citizens  great  satisfaction,  even  should  the  result 
be,  that  a  change  was  impracticable  or  inexpedient. 

For  the  renewed  evidences  I  have  recently  received  of  the  confidence  of  my 
fellow-citizens,  I  can  only  renew  the  assurance  of  a  life  and  thoughts  exclusively 
devoted  to  understand  and  pursue  their  best  interests. 


412  APPENDIX. 


(H.    Page  132.) 

MESSAGE  OF  THE  MAYOR  TO  THE  CITY  COUNCIL,  EECOMMENDINGr  THE 
EXTENSION  OF  THE  PLAN  OP  IMPROVEMENT  TO  SUTLER'S  ROW,  AND 
EXPLAINESra  THE  MOTIVES  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  FOR  THIS  REC0MMEN1>- 
ATION. 

Gentlemen  of 'the  City  Council:  — 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Joint  Committee  on  the  subject  of  the  extension  of  Faneuil 
Hall  Market,  on  the  2 2d  instant,  the  following  vote  was  passed;  and  the  Mayor 
was  requested  to  call  a  special  meeting  of  the  City  Council,  for  the  purpose  of 
communicating  to  them  the  subject  and  proposition  contained  in  that  vote.  In 
obedience  to  that  request,  the  present  meeting  has  been  called. 

The  vote  above  alluded  to  Is  exjjressed  In  the  following  terms :  —  "  Whereas 
counter  propositions  have  been  made  to  this  Committee,  relative  to  the  purchase 
of  lands  adjoining  the  present  improvements,  now  progressing  in  the  vicinity  of 
Faneuil  Hall  Market ;  and  whereas  this  Committee  are  unanimously  of  opinion, 
that  it  wUl  be  for  the  interest  of  the  city  that  this  Committee  should  be  enabled  to 
meet  and  close  on  behalf  of  the  city  with  one  or  other  of  those  propositions, 
thereupon  voted,  unanimously,  — 

"  That  the  Chainnan  communicate  the  above  fact  to  the  City  Council, 
and  state  to  them,  that  by  the  power  to  make  further  purchases  of  land  to  an 
amount  not  exceeding  two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars,  great  and 
permanently  useful  imj^rovements  and  additions  may  be  made  to  the  proposed 
market  accommodations,  without  any  ultimate  cost,  and  with  certain  ultimate  gain 
to  the  city." 

In  communicating  this  vote  to  the  City  Council,  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  make 
such  a  development  of  the  objects  of  that  vote  as  the  nature  of  the  subject  pei> 
mits,  and  as  the  nature  also  of  the  power  suggested  requires. 

A  suspension  of  the  sales  of  the  sites  for  the  south  block  of  store  lots  now 
remaining  to  be  sold  by  the  city,  according  to  the  former  plan  exhibited  to  the 
City  Council,  has  taken  place,  partly  by  reason  of  the  unsettled  state  of  that  part 
of  the  city  property  which  is  contracted  for  with  the  Long  Wliarf  proprietary, 
and  partly  on  account  of  the  opportunity  which  the  general  state  of  the  property 
lying  immediately  south  of  the  site  of  the  proposed  block  of  stores  presented  for 
most  advantageous  improvements  in  the  plan,  and  increase  of  the  accommoda- 
tions of  the  New  INIarket-House  and  streets,  as  well  as  for  a  most  convenient  and 
useful  general  arrangement  of  the  land,  included  between  Butler's  Row,  and  the 
land  leading  to  Bray's  Wharf. 

In  contemplating  the  plan  of  the  New  Market  and  streets  adjacent,  as  fonnerly 
presented,  and  on  considering  it  in  connection  with  its  other  relations,  your 
Committee  were  of  opinion,  that,  although  the  improvements  effected  by  that 
plan  were  of  a  great  and  very  satisfactory  character,  yet,  that  when  considered 
in  connection  with  the  concentration  of  business  which  must  result  to  this  part 
of  the  city  in  consequence  of  the  location  of  the  New  Market  there,  and  of  the 
creation  of  a  new  wharf  on  the  city  flats  to  the  eastwai'd,  which  at  no  distant 
period  could  not  fail  to  take  place,  as  well  as  from  the  opening  of  that  great 


APPENDIX. 


413 


sixty-five  feet  avenue  from  Long  "Whaif  eastward  to  the  New  Market,  about  to 
form  the  principal  route  of  the  business  between  the  north  part  of  the  city  and 
State,  India,  and  Broad  Streets.  They  were  also  of  opinion,  that  the  street  to 
the  southward  of  the  New  Market,  called  on  the  plan  "  South  Mark(!t  Street," 
was  much  too  narrow  for  that  great  influx  of  city  trucks  and  carts,  and  of  country 
teams  and  wagons,  which  the  union  of  commerce  and  the  market  would  occasion 
in  that  street  and  vicinity. 

Upon  the  plan  above-mentioned,  "  South  Market  Street "  was  only  "  sixty  feet " 
wide.  It  was  obvious  to  your  Committee,  that  if  this  street  could  lae  widened  to 
the  extent  of  at  least  one  hundred  feet,  the  contemplated  accommodation  of  our 
country  brethren  in  their  attendance  on  the  market,  as  well  as  of  our  citizens, 
would  be  greatly  increased ;  and  that  whenever  the  new  wharf  at  the  eastward 
on  the  city  flats  should  be  built,  the  space  thus  obtained  in  streets  would  be 
highly  desirable,  if  not  absolutely  necessary,  for  the  great  concentration  of  busi- 
ness above  stated,  which  would  be  effected  in  that  street  and  -vdcinity.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  considerations,  others  of  a  prospective  and  more  general  character 
presented  themselves. 

It  was  found  by  calculation,  made  on  the  present  demand  of  meat  and  vege- 
table stalls,  that  those  contained  in  the  New  Market  House  were  no  more  than 
sufficient  for  the  actual  existing  state  of  the  city,  with  its  present  population ; 
and  that,  if  any  extension  of  the  market  accommodation  should  by  the  progress 
of  society  become  necessary,  the  city  authorities  would  have  no  other  means  to 
effect  it  than  by  trenching  in  upon  the  width  of  a  "  sixty  feet  street,"  which,  it 
was  agreed  on  all  sides,  was  sufficiently  narrow  for  the  business  for  which  it  was 
about  to  be  the  scene,  and  to  form  the  sphere.  By  effecting  an  augmentation 
of  that  street  to  at  least  one  hundred  feet,  this  inconvenience  would  be  obviated. 
Those,  who  should  come  after  us,  might  at  any  time  add  to  the  Market  House 
now  building,!  should  the  growth  of  the  city  require,  a  width  of  thirty  or  forty 
feet  through  its  whole  length,  and  a  street  sixty  or  seventy  feet  wide  would 
remain  entire  for  the  accommodation  of  the  public.  , 

Other  considerations  of  a  more  general  character  presented  themselves  to  the 
Committee.  It  was  obvious  to  their  reflection  and  observation,  that  there  were 
reasons  and  opportunities  in  the  progress  of  societies,  and  cities,  as  well  as  of 
individuals,  by  which,  according  as  they  were  seized  and  improved,  or  suffered 
to  escape  and  be  neglected,  their  character  and  destinies  were  shaped  and  esta- 
blished. It  also  could  not  but  be  perceived  by  them,  that  among  the  circum- 
stances which  had  a  tendency  to  incommode  and  restrict  the  apparent  tendencies 
to  the  growth  of  the  city  of  Boston,  was  the  narrowness  and  crookedness  of  its 
streets,  and  its  want  of  great  squares  and  wide  public  spaces  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  business  of  citizens.  It  was  plain  to  your  Committee,  that  no  oppor- 
tunity should  be  suffered  to  pass,  without  being  availed  of,  for  the  purpose  of 
relieving  the  city  from  this  discredit  and  these  disadvantages.  And  they  could 
not  but  be  struck  with  the  singular  coincidence  of  season,  places,  and  opportunity, 
which  the  new  improvements  and  the  general  state  of  the  real  propertj-  about 
Faneml  Hall  Market  offered  for  these  purposes. 

1  This  street,  having  been  subsequently  laid  out  by  the  Surveyors  of  Highways, 
the  use  of  it  here  suggested  is  probably  precluded. 
35* 


414  APPENDIX. 

At  the  moment  wlien  a  new  organization  of  the  government  has  given  to  the 
authorities  of  Boston  a  greater  efficiency,  the  state  of  the  capital  and  enterprise, 
as  well  as  the  prevailing  harmony  and  union  In  relation  to  pubHc  improvements 
among  the  citizens,  has  given  a  willingness  to  cooperate  in  them,  altogether 
unexampled.  The  present,  therefore,  it  is  very  apparent,  is  one  of  those  seasons 
and  opportunities  in  the  progress  of  this  city,  on  the  neglect  or  improvement 
of  which  materially  depends  its  character  and  destiny. 

The  place,  also,  on  which  the  proposed  improvements  were  carrying  on,  was, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  Committee,  peculiarly  favorable  to  excite  interest  and  union 
of  sentiment  among  the  citizens,  as  well  as  to  stimulate  to  a  further  extension  of 
similar  improvements,  on  a  scale  highly  honorable  to  the  character  of  the  city, 
and  beneficial  as  it  respects  its  future  prospects. 

Faneull  Hall  Market  Is  so  located  with  respect  to  the  general  Interests  of 
Boston,  that  It  may  well  be  considered,  as  it  were,  the  heart  of  the  city.  The 
new  improvements  have  been  planned,  and  are  executing  on  a  scale,  calculated 
to  connect  the  northern  and  southern  sections  with  tins  great  centre  by  a  noble 
avenue,  and  to  bring  into  a  sphere  of  profitable  use,  lands  or  flats  hitherto  com- 
paratively of  little  use  or  value.  It  must  be  apparent  to  every  one  who  considers 
the  subject,  that.  If  the  present  opportunity  be  suffered  to  pass  unimproved,  that 
It  will  for  that  vicinity  he  lost  forever.  After  the  final  location  of  the  southern 
block  of  stores  now  about  to  be  sold,  all  hope  of  a  more  extensive  and  accommo- 
dating plan  must  be  abandoned.  Posterity  cannot  without  great  sacrifices,  If  at 
all,  effect  an  arrangement  of  streets  and  spaces  for  the  business  of  the  city,  which 
now  can  be  obtained  with  httle  sacrifice ;  and  in  fact  with  none,  when  compared 
/  with  the  greatness  of  the  increased  Improvements  and  resulting  advantages. 

With  these  general  views,  the  Chairman,  by  direction  of  the  Committee, 
opened  a  negotiation  with  the  dliferent  proprietors  of  the  land  and  stores  in  the 
vicinity  of  Butler's  Row,  and  Bray's  Wharf  and  dock.  It  is  very  ajiparent,  that 
this  negotiation  must  be  carried  on  under  many  disadvantages,  not  only  on 
account  of  the  number  of  proprietors,  whose  good-wjll  was  to  be  conciliated,  but 
also  from  the  high  price  at  which  the  city  sales  In  that  vicinity  had  countenanced 
those  proprietors  In  claiming  for  their  lands.  A  conditional  arrangement  has, 
however,  at  length  been  made  with  all  the  proprietors,  whose  lands  are  necessary 
to  be  included  in  this  plan,  dependent  on  the  will  of  the  Faneuil  Hall  Market 
Committee.  They  are,  therefore,  now  enabled  to  state  with  precision  the  parti- 
cular plan  which  they  deem  It  most  for  the  Interest  of  the  city  to  adopt,  consider- 
ing all  the  relations  of  the  property  in  that  vicinity,  and  also  to  state  the  extreme 
possible  cost  and  pecuniary  results  of  that  plan,  should  it  be  deemed  advisable 
to  adopt  it.i 

Upon  the  whole,  the  interest  of  the  city  is,  in  my  opinion,  so  great,  so  obvious, 
and  so  certain,  that  I  deem  it  my  duty  earnestly  to  recommend  it  to  the  City 
Council. 

The  result  of  this  Improvement,  when  carried  Into  effect,  according  to  all  the 
greatness  and  utility  which  the  relations  of  the  property  In  that  vicinity  permits, 

1  As  the  plan  here  detailed  was  adopted  and  carried  into  effect  by  the  City 
Council,  and  its  advantages  are  at  this  day  (1851)  understood  and  acknow- 
ledged, the  statements  here  made  relative  to  the  cost  and  anticipated  result  are 
omitted. 


APPENDIX.  415 

cannot  fail  to  reflect  great  honor  on  tlie  citizens  of  this  metropolis,  not  only 
with  foreigners,  but  with  our  posterity,  inasmuch  as  it  will  evidence  the  exist- 
ence of  a  spiiit  in  the  citizens  of  the  present  time,  capable  of  devising  and 
willing  to  meet  the  expenditures  necessary  to  effect  improvements  on  a  scale 
calculated  not  merely  to  provide  for  the  exigencies  of  a  passing  day,  but  to 
extend  to  aU  future  generations  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  city  by  present  wise 
prospective  arrangements,  the  blessings  of  that  exceeding  great  prosperity, 
which  Providence  in  its  bounty  permits  us  to  enjoy. 


(I.    Page  137.) 

PEOCEEDINGS  ON  LAYING  THE  CORNER  STONE  OF  FANEUIL  HALL  MARKET. 

On  Wednesday,  the  twenty-seventh  of  April,  1825,  the  Corner  Stone  of  the 
New  FaneuQ  Hall  Market  was  laid  by  the  Mayor  of  the  city,  in  the  presence 
of  the  members  of  the  City  Council,  the  Superintendent  and  workmen  of  the 
building,  and  a  lai'ge  number  of  citizens.  The  City  Government  assembled  in 
Faneuil  HaU  at  eleven  o'clock,  and  moved  to  the  site  of  the  new  edifice,  in 
the  following  order,  preceded  and  flanked  by  peace  officers :  — 

The  Mayor. 

The  City  Marshal,  bearing  the  chest  containing  the  deposits. 

The  other  Members  of  the  Building  Committee. 

Aldermen. 

Members  of  the  Common  Council. 

Clerks  of  the  two  Boards. 

Principal  Architect,  &c. 

The  Corner  Stone,  (a  large  block  of  Chelmsford  granite,)  was  suspended  by 
a  puUey  over  the  foundation  stone,  in  a  cavity  of  which  a  leaden  box,  or  chest, 
was  deposited,  and  which  contained,  — 

1.  A  colored  Map  of  the  City,  recently  executed. 

2.  Plan  of  the  Lands,  Stores,  Dock,  &c.,  on  which  the  new  Improvement  is 
located,  as  they  existed  before  the  Improvement  was  contemplated.  The  sites 
of  the  New  Market,  Streets,  Eanges  of  Stores,  &c.,  being  designated  by  dotted 
lines. 

3.  A  Book,  containing  the  Charter  of  the  City,  with  the  Amendments  there- 
to ;  the  Constitutions  of  the  United  States  and  of  Massachusetts ;  and  sundry 
Laws,  passed  in  relation  to  the  City. 

4.  Copies  of  the  Kules  and  Regulations  of  the  City  Council,  with  a  list  of  the 
Officers  of  the  City,  and  the  Wards,  for  1824  -  '25. 


416  APPENDIX. 

5.  ^Twenty-two  Newspapers  published  during  the  preceding  week,  including 
all  the  weekly,  semi-weekly,  and  daily  papers,  the  Price  Current,  and  Masonic 
Magazine. 

6.  Eight  numbers  of  Bowen's  "  History  of  Boston,"  in  course  of  pubhcation, 
containing  a  number  of  views  of  edifices,  &c.  in  the  city. 

7.  A  case,  containing  the  following  Coins,  &c. :  —  An  Eagle,  Half  Eagle,  and 
Quarter  Eagle,  of  gold  ;  a  Dollar,  Hah"  Dollar,  Quarter  Dollar,  Dime,  and  Half 
Dime,  of  silver ;  and  a  Cent  and  Half  Cent  of  the  most  recent  coinage  of  the 
United  States;  a  Silver  (Pine-Tree)  Shilling,  of  Massachusetts,  coined  in  1652, 
presented  by  Nathaniel  G.  Snelling,  Esq. ;  and  a  Cent  and  Half  Cent  of  the 
coinage  of  Massachusetts,  of  1787.  The  latter  presented  by  Mr.- Jeremiah 
Kehler.  Together  with  the  following  Old  Continental  Bills  (of  paper  money) 
issued  during  the  Revolution,  to  wit, —  One  of  Eight  Dollars,  issued  in  1776, 
and  one  of  Forty  Dollars,  issued  in  1779,  presented  by  Mr.  John  Fuller;  one 
of  Four  Dollars,  and  two  of  Six  Dollars,  (one  guaranteed  by  Rhode  Island,) 
presented  by  Isaac  "Winslow,  Esq. ;  one  of  Two  Dollars,  issued  in  1776  ;  one  of 
Five,  one  of  Twenty,  and  one  of  Thirty  Dollars,  issued  in  1778  ;  one  of  Five 
Dollars,  (guaranteed  by  New  Hampshire,)  and  one  New  Hampshire  Colony  Bill, 
for  Ten  Pounds,  issued  in  1775,  presented  by  Ebenezer  Farley,  Esq.;  and  a 
Rhode  Island  New  Emission  BUI,  issued  in  1780,  for  Three  Dollars,  presented 
by  Stephen  Codman,  Esq. 

It  has  been  a  subject  of  regret,^  that  the  emblems,  mottoes,  and  devices  of  the 
old  continental  paper  money,  have  not,  in  our  recollection,  been  permanently 
recorded.  We  remember  to  have  read  a  glowing  description  of  them  given 
by  a  celebrated  Whig  Peer  of  England,  in  the  British  Parliament,  during  the 
Revolution,  in  answer  to  a  remark  of  a  Ministerialist,  that  the  Americans  were 
destitute  of  sound  learning  and  science  ;  and  which  was  adduced  by  him  in  proof 
of  the  existence  in  America  of  classical  learning,  taste,  and  genius,  not  excelled 
by  any  thing  of  the  kind  of  which  the  literati  of  England  could  boast.  He  then 
attributed  the  mottoes  and  designs  to  Franklin,  Adams,  Rittenhouse, 
Livingston,  and  others,  which,  he  said,  bore  equal  evidence  of  scholarship  and 
patriotism.  The  bills  were  extremely  well  engraved,  and  printed  by  Hall  and 
Sellers,  the  then  Basker  villes  and  Didots  of  America.  Every  denomina- 
tion of  bills  bore  distinct  devices,  with  significant  and  apjaropriate  Latin  mottoes. 
We  shall  only  notice  those  on  the  denominations  deposited. 

The  Two  Dollar  Bills  bore  the  emblem  of  a  hand  making  a  circle  with  com- 
passes. Motto,  Tribulatio  Ditat.  Translation,  "  Trouble  enriches,"  or,  "  The 
sufferings  of  the  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  glory 
which  shall  be."  —  Rom.  viii.  18. 

The  device  of  the  Three  Dollar  Bills  was  "  an  eagle  pouncing  on  a  crane, 
whose  beak  annoyed  the  eagle's  throat."  Motto,  Exitus  iii  dubio  est.  Transla- 
tion, "  The  issue  is  doubtful,"  or,  "  The  race  is  not  to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to 
the  strong."  —  Eccl.  ix.  11. 

On  the  Five  Dollar  Bills  was  a  hand  grasping  at  a  thorn-bush.  Motto,  Sustine 
vel  abstine.  Translation,  "  Hold  fast  or  touch  not,"  or,  "  Be  not  overcome  of  evil, 
but  overcome  evil  with  good."  —  Rom.  xii.  21. 

The  Six  Dollar  Bills  represented  a  beaver  felling  a  tree.  Motto,  Perseverando. 
Translation,  "  By  perseverance  we  prosper,"  or,  "  Let  us  nm  with  patience  the 
race  set  before  us."  —  Heb.  xii.  1.     Another  emission  bore  an  anchor.     Motto, 

1  The  whole  of  this  note  is  taken  from  the  Columbian  Gentinel  of  the  thirtieth 
of  April,  1825,  edited  by  Benjamin  Russell,  an  active  and  efficient  member  of 
the  Faneuil  Hall  Committee. 


APPENDIX.  417 

In  te  Doniine  speramus.      Translation,   "  In   God  have  I  put  my  trust." 

Psalm  Ixvi.  11. 

The  Eight  Dollar  Bills  bore  the  Irish  harp.  Motto,  Majora  Minorihus  conso- 
nant. Translation,  "  United  we  stand,"  or,  "  Lot  there  he  no  divisions  anion" 
you  ;  but  be  perfectly  joined  together  in  the  same  mind  and  in  the  same  jud"- 
ment."  —  1  Cor.  i.  10. 

The  Thirty  Dollar  Bills  bore  a  wreath  on  an  altar.  Motto,  Si  recte  fades. 
Translation,  "  If  you  do  right  you  will  succeed,"  or,  "  Do  that  which  is  good,  and 
thou  shalt  have  praise  of  the  same."  —  Heb.  xiii.  3. 

8.  A  Plate  of  silver,  weighing  fifteen  ounces,  eleven  inches  by  seven,  with 
the  following 

INSCRIPTION. 
Faneuil  Hall  Market, 
Established  by  the  City  of  Boston.     This  Stone  was  laid  April  27,  Anno  Do- 
mini MDCCCXXV.,  in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  American  Independence,  and 
in  the  third  of  the  Incorporation  of  the  city. 

Jo  SI  ah  Quinct,  Mayor. 
Aldermen.  —  Daniel  Baxter,  George   Odiorne,  David  W.  Child,  Joseph 
Hawley  Dorr,  Asher  Benjamin,  Enoch  Patterson,  Caleb  Eddy,  Stephen  Hooper. 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  COMMON  COUNCIL. 

Francis  J.  Oliver,  President. 
Ward  No.  1.  —  William  Barre,  John  Elliot,  Mchael  Tombs,  Joseph  Wheel- 
er. —  2.  William  Little,  Jr.,  Thaddeus  Page,  Oliver  Reed,  Joseph  Stone.  — 
3.  John  R.  Adan,  John  D.  Dyer,  Edward  Page,  WiUiam  Sprague.  —  4.  Joseph 
Coolidge,  Jeremiah  Fitch,  Robert  G.  Shaw,  William  R.  P.  Washburn.  —  5.  Eli- 
phalet  P.  Hartshorn,  Elias  Haskell,  George  W.  Otis,  Winslow  Wright. — 
6.  Joseph  S.  Hastings,  Joel  Prouty,  Thomas  Wiley,  WilUam  Wright. —  7.  Charles 
P.  Curtis,  William  Goddard,  Elijah  Morse,  Isaac  Parker.  —  8.  John  Ballard, 
Jonathan  Davis,  John  C.  Gray,  Hawkes  Lincoln.  —  9.  Benjamin  Russell,  Eli- 
phalet  Williams,  Samuel  K.  WiUiams,  Benjamin  WUlis.  —  10.  Francis  J.  OHver, 
James  Savage,  Phineas  Upham,  Thomas  B.  Wales.  —  11.  Samuel  Frothingham, 
Giles  Lodge,  Charles  Sprague,  Josiah  Stedman. — 12.  Charles  Bemis,  Siunuel 
Bradlee,  Francis  Jackson,  Isaac  Thorn. 

BUILDING   COMMITTEE. 

Josiah  Quincy,  Chaii'man. 

David  W.  Child,  Asher  Benjamin,  Enoch  Patterson,  Francis  J.  Oliver,  Ben- 
jamin Russell,  Charles  P.  Curtis,  Thaddeus  Page,  EHphalet  Williams,  Joseph 
CooHdge,  William  Wright. 

Alexander  Parris,  Principal  Architect. 

John  Quincy  Adams,  President  of  the  United  States. 

Marcus  Morton,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 

Memoranda.  —  The  population  of  the  City,  estimated  at  fifty  thousand.  That 
of  the  United  States,  eleven  millions. 

[Engraved  by  Hazen  Morsei] 


418  APPENDIX. 

The  Stone  liaving  heen  placed  in  its  proper  position  and  cemented,  the  Mayor 
announced  that  the  Comer  Stone  was  now  erected  of  an  edifice,  which  would 
be  a  proud  memorial  of  the  pubHc  spirit  and  unanimity  of  the  City  Council,  and 
of  the  liberality  of  their  feUow-citizens ;  an  edifice  which,  he  anticipated,  would 
be  an  ornament  to  the  city,  a  convenience  for  its  inhabitants,  a  blessing  to  the 
poor,  an  accommodation  to  the  rich,  and  an  object  of  pleasure  to  the  whole 
community.     Three  cheers  followed  the  annunciation,  and  the  ceremony  closed. 

The  execution  of  the  Inscription  on  the  Plate  deposited  has  been  admired  by 
aU  who  have  viewed  it,  as  an  excellent  sample  of  the  progress  made  in  the 
graphic  art,  and  the  ornamental  and  scrip  chirography  of  the  day. 


(K.    Page  145.) 

STATEMENTS  KELATIVE  TO   THE   IRRESPONSIBILITY  CLAIMED  BT  THE  OVER- 
SEEKS  OF  THE  POOR  FOR  PUBLIC  MONEYS. 

The  Keport  here  referred  to,  embodied  aU  the  facts  relative  to  the  irrespon- 
sibility of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  the  Poor  for  the  great  sums  they  annually 
receive  from  the  City  Treasury,  and  also  for  the  great  amount  of  eleemosynary 
funds  in  their  hands.  It  was  signed  by  every  member  of  the  Committee,  (see 
p.  144,)  men  most  faithful  to  the  interests  of  the  city,  and  soHcitous  to  promote 
those  of  the  poor.  It  was  accepted  unanimously  by  both  branches  of  the  City 
Council,  and  its  recommendations  were,  in  a  general  meeting  of  more  than  eight 
hundred  inhabitants,  rejected  by  a  majority  of  only  thirty-one  ;  a  result  showing, 
that  the  views  presented  ia  that  report  were  approved  by  nearly  half  of  those 
present,  and  those  among  the  most  intelligent,  and  possessing  as  great  a  stake  as 
any  in  the  city. 

After  the  result  of  the  struggle  made  in  1824  to  effect  a  change  in  this  claim 
of  the  Overseers  for  irresponsibility,  a  perfect  silence  was  maintained  on  the 
nature  and  consequences  of  these  pretensions,  until  March,  1837,  when  Samuel 
A.  Ehot,  Mayor  of  the  city,  in  a  communication  to  the  City  Council  relative  to 
the  eleemosynary  fund,  "  exclusively  under  the  control  of  the  Overseers  of  the 
Poor,"  and  the  expenditures,  concerning  which  they  disavowed  all  accountability, 
took  occasion  to  make  the  following  remarks  :  — 

"  Wliether  this  is  a  state  of  things  which  should  exist,  or  whether  it  would  be 
better  that  all  the  modes  of  charity  should  be  under  one  general  supervision,  and 
mider  the  usual  responsibility  to  the  City  Council,  is  for  the  Council  and  the 
citizens  to  determine.  I  cannot  perceive,  that  any  advantage,  arising  from  the 
present  system,  is  a  counterbalance  to  the  evU  which  ensues  from  the  complica- 
tion of  the  business  in  so  many  hands,  the  danger  of  collision  between  independ- 
ent boards,  and  the  tendency  natural  to  all  irresponsible  bodies,  to  conceal  their 
transactions.  Publicity  is  generally  and  justly  regarded  as  the  best  security 
against  abuse,  and  the  convenience  of  having  a  system  of  charity  adopted  by  the 
city,  and  pursued  under  the  direction  of  one  board,  is  too  manifest  to  require 
urging.  In  what  manner  this  can  be  effected,  I  must  leave  to  the  deliberations 
of  the  City  Council,  with  the  conviction,  that  their  proceedings  will  be  marked 
by  regard  to  the  public  good,  and  a  just  deference '  to  enlightened  public 
opinion." 


APPENDIX.  419 

Notwithstanding  the  directness  and  wisdom  of  these  suggestions,  no  attempt 
was  then  made,  or  has  been  subsequently,  to  efTcct  a  cliangc  in  a  state  of  thintrs 
so  undeniably  incorrect  in  point  of  principle,  and  so  unquestionably  liable  to 
secret  abuse.  A  board  of  twelve  men,  chosen  not  by  the  citizens  at  large,  >mt 
individually,  in  wards,  continue  to  be  permitted  to  expend  from  twentij-eir/hl  lo 
tliirty  thousand  dollars  annually  of  money  received  out  of  the  City  Treasuiy,  and 
to  manage  a  capital  of  upwards  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  eleemosynary 
funds,  distributing  its  incomes  at  their  discretion,  without  accountability  to  any 
one,  except  to  one  another,  wliich,  in  effect,  is  no  accountability  at  all. 

The  cause  of  this  apparent  apathy  is  obvious.  There  is  no  body  now  existing 
in  the  city,  authorized  to  call  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  to  account  for  their 
expenditures ;  and,  should  the  City  Council  make  any  movement  to  exercise  or 
obtain  that  power,  a  clamor  would  be  raised,  as  it  was  in  1824,  in  the  different 
wards,  by  those  interested  in  maintaining  the  present  system,  and  they  would  be 
denounced  as  attempting  to  interfere  with  an  independent  board,  and  with  a 
desire  to  get  under  their  control  funds  placed  in  other  hands  by  the  donors  them- 
selves, —  a  reproach  and  odium  which  few  administrations  are  wiUing  to  meet, 
and  perhaps  fewer  would  be  able  to  sustain.  In  the  mean  time,  by  the  increase 
of  our  population  and  the  infusion  of  foreigners,  the  necessity  of  public  expend- 
itures for  the  poor  continually  augments,  and  with  it,  unavoidably,  the  temptation 
and  danger  of  secret  abuse  of  great  funds,  when  intrusted  to  irresponsible  agents- 
It  seems  important,  therefore,  that  some  historical  facts  should  be  stated  and 
preserved,  especially  such  as  relate  to  the  eleemosynary  funds,  now  holden  and 
distributed  by  the  present  Board  of  Overseers,  claiming  to  be  successors  of  the 
former  Board  of  Overseers,  which  existed  under  the  town. 

First,  then,  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  the  Poor  of  the  town  of  Boston  were 
very  differently  constituted  than  are  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  the  Poor  of  the 
city  of  Boston,  and  consequently  possessed  far  more  elements  of  general  con- 
fidence. Had  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  the  Poor  been  then  constituted  as 
it  is  now,  it  would  never  have  been  selected  as  the  trustees  of  those  eleenkosy- 
nary  funds. 

Under  the  town  government  the  members  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  the 
Poor  were  elected  by  the  votes  of  the  whole  body  of  the  inhabitants.  They 
were  consequently  always  men  of  a  high  general  character,  known  to  a  majority 
of  the  inhabitants,  and  chosen  by  them  for  their  integrity,  capacity,  and  adapt- 
ation to  the  service.  Among  them  were  always  men  distinguished  for  their 
wealth,  their  business  talents,  and  charities.  The  uniformity  of  this  result  for 
many  years,  created  that  general  confidence,  which  caused  them  to  be  chosen  as 
trustees  of  these  eleemosynary  funds.  Now  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  the  Poor, 
under  the  city  government,  are  chosen  in  wards,  and  consequently  are  seldom 
known  to  the  inhabitants  generally,  and  are  also  often  not  selected  for  any 
special  qualification  for  this  great  trust,  but  because  they  are  popular  and  avail- 
able candidates,  or  wilUng  to  accept  an  office  which  is  deemed  irksome,  and  to 
which  no  emolument  is  thought  to  be  attached.  A  board  thus  constituted  could 
never  have  acquired  that  general  confidence,  which  the  donations  of  those  elee- 
mosynary funds  indicate.  What  capitalist,  at  this  day,  would  select  that  board  as 
trustees  of  such  donations  ? 

There  was  another  element  of  confidence  in  the  Board  of  Overseers,  under 


420  APPENDIX. 

tlie  town,  -wliicli  Is  wholly  wanting  in  that  board  under  the  city,  —  every  vacancy 
in  the  hoard  was  always  in  fact  filled  hy  the  nomination  of  the  members  of  the 
hoard  themselves.  Hence,  the  new  members  were  always  well  qualified  for  the 
office,  and  acceptable  to  the  old  members  remaining  as  associates.  When  a 
vacancy  was  about  to  occur,  it  was  the  practice  of  the  board  to  consult  together, 
and  to  select  the  individual  whose  name  was  to  be  inserted  in  the  general  ticket 
with  those  of  the  members  of  the  board  about  to  remain.  This  course  was 
known,  and  acceptable  to  the  inhabitants.  The  individual  thus  selected,  being 
always  one  whose  qualities  and  adaptation  were  by  them  well  known  and 
approved,  he  was  accordingly  uniformly  chosen,  it  is  believed,  without  objection 
or  opposition,  during  the  whole  period  of  the  town  government.  This  course  of 
proceeding  gave  that  board,  under  the  town,  a  fixed  and  staid  character,  inviting 
confidence  and  sustaining  it. 

Concerning  these  eleemosynary  funds,  the  Board  of  Overseers  wrap  them- 
selves up  in  the  dignity  of  irresponsible  trustees,  and  deny  to  every  one,  even  to 
the  Mayor  of  the  city,  the  right  of  raising  any  question  concerning  the  manage- 
ment and  distribution  of  them.  Yet,  they  have  no  other  gi'ound  of  claim  to  the 
control  of  those  funds  than  a  general  declaration  in  the  city  charter,  that  they 
shall  have  "  all  the  powers  and  be  subject  to  all  the  duties  which  appertain  to 
the  Board  of  Overseers  of  the  Poor  of  the  town  of  Boston."  Whether  such 
general  expressions  as  these,  which  contain  no  words  purporting  a  transfer  of 
property,  or  implying  a  grant  of  any  succession  to  trusts,  are  sufficient  in  law  to 
pass  funds  of  a  great  amount  pre%'iously  vested  in  a  corporation  "  by  the  name 
of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  of  the  town  of  Boston,  and  their  successors,"  is  a 
question  of  law,  which,  if  the  heirs  or  representatives  of  the  original  donors  of 
those  funds  should  seriously  raise  in  a  court  of  justice,  the  result,  perhaps,  might 
be  dubious.  Fortunately,  however,  the  Legislature  has  reserved  to  itself,  In  the 
very  charter  of  the  city,  the  right  "  to  alter  and  qualify  "  the  powers  of  that 
board.  And  It  is  believed,  that  the  time  cannot  be  far  distant,  when  the  Legis- 
lature, either  self-moved,  or  on  the  ai^plicatlon  either  of  individual  citizens  or 
of  the  City  Council,  wIU  recognize  it  as  their  duty  to  do  justice  to  the  charitable 
donors  of  those  eleemos}Tiary  funds,  and  bring  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  the 
Poor  under  the  city  to  as  near  an  a^aproxlmatlon  to  the  character  of  that  under 
the  town  as  is  now  possible,  by  enacting  a  law,  by  which  the  members  of  that 
board  shall  be  chosen  by  that  body,  which  now  in  every  thing  else  acts  for  the 
whole  body  of  the  citizens,  that  is,  by  the  City  Council ;  and  thereby  restore 
that  board  more  nearly  to  the  same  elements  of  general  confidence  it  possessed 
under  the  town. 

An  act  of  this  kind  would  also  reUeve  the  city  of  Boston  from  the  effect  of  that 
monstrous  financial  anomaly,  whereby  twelve  men,  chosen  individually  in  wai'ds, 
with  little  consideration  by  the  voters  of  the  great  amounts  of  money  placed  at 
their  disposal,  and  of  their  adaptation  to  distribute  it,  are  invested  annually 
with  power  to  expend  from  twenty-eight  to  thirty  thousand  dollars  out  of  the 
public  treasury,  at  their  disci-etlon,  with  no  other  accountablUty  than  to  one 
another.  The  annual  publication  of  their  receipts  and  expenditures,  which  they 
call  accounting  to  their  fellow-citizens,  has.  In  fact,  no  one  element  of  efiectlve 
accountability. 
_  Under  the  town  government,  it  was  otherwise.    There  every  inhabitant  had 


APPENDIX.  421 

the  right  and  the  power,  in  public  town-meeting,  to  (lemiuul  explanations  and 
specifications,  concerning  the  modes  and  principles  of  expenditure.  Under  tlie 
city,  no  human  being  has  such  right  or  power,  it  being  denied  even  to  tiie  City 
Council ;  and,  although  it  naturally  belongs  to  them,  diey  have  hitiierUj  been 
deterred  from  attempting  to  obtain  it,  from  causes  well  known  and  already 
intimated. 


(L.     Page  206.) 

AN  ADDRESS  1  DELIVERED  AT  THE  UNANIMOUS  REQUEST  OF  BOTH  BRANCHES 
OF  THE  CITY  COUNCIL  ON  THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY,  1826,  IT  BEING  THE 
FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE,  BY  JOSIAH  QUINCY, 
MAYOR  OF  THE  CITY. 

On  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  independence  of  our  country,  —  on  tlie 
great  day  of  our  fathers'  glory,  —  we  assemble  to  speak  concerning  tlieir  virtues, 
and  to  tell  of  labors  and  sacrifices  by  which  they  gave  existence  to  our  nation. 

More  than  half  the  term  allotted  in  the  ordinary  course  of  Providence  to  the 
longest  human  life  has  elapsed  since  that  event.  Those  whose  age  or  experience 
guide  the  aiiairs  of  the  present  time  were  then  children  or  youths ;  witnesses, 
without  being  partakers  of  that  struggle.  How  natural  and  suitable  is  it,  on  such 
an  anniversary,  for  the  fathers  of  the  present  day  to  speak  concerning  the  fathers 
of  former  days  to  one  another  and  to  their  children,  who  are  destined  to  be  the 
fathers  of  the  age  which  is  to  come  ! 

We  are,  then,  fellow-citizens,  assembled,  not  to  take  part  in  a  light  and  vain 
show,  but  to  perform  a  solemn  and  somewhat  a  religious  duty.  Parents  and 
children,  we  have  come  to  the  altar  of  our  common  faith,  not  like  the  Carthagi- 
nian, to  swear  enmity  to  another  nation,  but,  in  the  spirit  of  obedience  and  under 
a  sense  of  moral  and  rehgious  obUgation,  to  inquire  what  it  is  to  fulfil  well  our 
duty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity.  And  while  we  pass  before  our  eyes  in  long 
array  the  outspread  images  of  our  fathers'  virtues,  let  us  strive  to  excite  in  our 
own  bosoms  and  enkindle  in  each  other's  that  intense  and  sacred  zeal  by  which 
their  patriotism  was  animated  and  refined.  Fifty  years  after  the  occurrence  of 
the  greatest  of  our  national  events,  we  gather  with  our  children  aroimd  the 
tombs  of  our  fathers,  as  we  trust,  —  and  may  Heaven  so  grant! — fifty  years 
hence,  those  children  wOl  gather  around  ours,  in  the  spirit  of  gratitude  and 
honor,  to  contemplate  their  glory ;  to  seek  the  lessons  suggested  by  their  exam- 
ple ;  and  to  examine  the  principles  on  which  they  laid  the  foundations  of  their 
country's  prosperity  and  greatness. 

1  This  work  having  been  substituted,  under  circumstances  the  text  explains, 
for  one  of  the  orations  annually  deUvered  by  the  appointment  of  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  on  the  fourth  of  July,  has  been  naturally  published  with  that  name,, 
and  usually  regarded  in  that  light. 

It  was,  however,  solicited  as  an  address  to  the  Citj-  Council  and  inhabitants 
of  the  city,  accepted  as  an  official  duty,  and  executed  in  a  style  adapted  to 
the  relation  in  which  the  writer  stood,  and  in  conformity  with  the  vote  of  the 
City  Council. 

36 


422  APPENDIX. 

But  if,  as  Americans,  it  be  natural  and  suitable  to  consecrate  this  day  in  our 
affections,  how  much  more  as  citizens  of  Boston,  —  inhabitants  of  that  city 
known  through  the  world  as  the  cradle  of  American  liberty,  —  standing  as  we 
do  under  the  canopy  of  that  sacred  temple,^  which  was  honored,  in  the  most  try- 
ing times  of  our  Revolution,  by  the  boldest  breathings  of  our  chiefest  patriots  ; 
which  was  polluted  in  the  most  disastrous  times  by  the  war  horse,  which  neighed 
and  stabled  in  tliis  sanctuary  ;  surrounded  as  we  are  by  the  direct  descendants 
of  those  who  were  first  and  most  fearless  in  the  day  of  severest  trial ! 

Where  shall  the  memory  of  the  great  men  of  our  Revolution  be  honored,  if  it 
be  not  in  this  city,  in  this  temple,  and  in  this  assembly  ? 

What  future  age,  what  distant  region,  hearing  of  the  American  Revolution, 
shall  not  also  hear  of  "  Faneuil  Hah  "  and  of  the  "  Old  South,"  where  the  early 
spirit  of  American  liberty  stood  in  dignity,  fidelity,  and  fearlessness,  while  sen- 
tries, with  fixed  bayonets,  were  at  our  State  House  doors ;  while  Boston  was  but 
a  garrison  —  its  islands  and  harbors  possessed  by  a  vindictive  and  indignant  foe  ; 
its  trade  suspended  by  British  'cruisers ;  famine  threatened  by  British  edicts ; 
and  the  blood  of  its  slaughtered  citizens  flowed  in  its  streets ! 

In  what  land,  where  the  American  name  is  known,  are  not,  and  shall  not  for- 
ever be,  known,  the  names  of  those  citizens  of  Boston,  who  were  the  strength 
and  lights  of  their  own  time,  and  the  eternal  glory  of  their  country,  —  Adams 
and  Hancock,  and  Otis,  and  Warren,  and  others  of  scarcely  less  celebrity  ? 

Especially  shall  he  not  be  forgotten,  now  or  ever,  that  ancient  citizen  of  Bos- 
ton, that  patriarch  of  American  independence,  of  all  New  England's  worthies, 
on  this  great  day  the  sole  survivor.2  He,  indeed,  oppressed  by  years,  sinking 
under  the  burdens  of  decaying  nature,  hears  not  our  public  song  or  voice  of 
praise  or  ascending  prayer.  But  the  sounds  of  a  nation's  joy,  rushing  from  our 
cities,  ringing  from  our  valleys,  echoing  from  our  lulls,  shall  break  the  silenee  of 
his  aged  ear  ;  the  rising  blessings  of  grateful  millions  shall  visit,  with  a  glad  light, 
his  fading  vision,  and  flush  the  last  shades  of  his  evening  sky  with  the  reflected 
splendors  of  his  meridian  brightness. 

How  peculiarly  and  imperiously  incumbent,  then,  is  it  on  us  on  this  day,  in 
this  place  and  in  this  assembly,  to  speak  together  concerning  the  glory  of  our 
ancestors ;  to  analyze  that  glory ;  and  to  inquire  what  it  is  to  deserve,  and  what 
it  is  to  disgrace  those  ancestors  ! 

When  we  speak  of  the  glory  of  our  fathers,  we  mean  not  that  vulgar  renown 
to  be  attained  by  physical  strength,  nor  yet  that  higher  fame  to  be  acquired  by 
intellectual  power.     Both  often  exist  without  lofty  thought  or  pure  intent  or 

1  The  Old  South  Church. 

2  John  Adams,  the  patriot  here  alluded  to,  expired  at  about  five  o'clock 
on  this  day ;  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  another  patriot  of  the  same  period,  also 
expired  at  about  one  o'clock  on  the  same  afternoon. 

Thus  two  of  the  most  distinguished  statesmen  of  the  United  States,  both  mem- 
bers of  the  Committee  of  Congress  who  drafted  the  Declaration  of  American 
Independence,  and  who  both  signed  that  instrument ;  both  of  whom  had  been 
for  many  years  Ministers  of  the  United  States  at  several  European  courts ;  both 
of  wliom  had  held  successively  the  offices  of  Vice-President  and  President  of 
the  United  States,  finished  their  mortal  career  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1826  ;  it 
being  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  that  most  glorious  and  'happy  event  for  them- 
selves and  their  country,  —  the  Declaration  of  American  Independence. 


APPENDIX.  433 

generous  purpose.  The  glory  which  we  celebrate  was  strictly  of  a  moral  and 
religious  character,  — righteous  as  to  its  ends,  just  as  to  its  mcaus.  The  Ameri- 
can revolution  had  its  origin,  neither  in  ambition,  nor  avarice,  nor  envy,  nor  in 
any  gross  passion ;  but  in  the  nature  and  relation  of  things,  and  in  the  thence 
resulting  necessity  of  separation  from  the  parent  State.  Its  proo-rcss  wa.s  limited 
by  that  necessity.  During  the  struggle,  our  fathers  displayed  great  strength  and 
great  moderation  of  purpose.  In  dilHcult  times  they  conducted  with  wisdom. 
In  doubtful  times,  with  firmness.  In  perilous,  with  courage.  Under  oj)pressive 
trials,  erect.  Amidst  great  temptations,  unseduced.  In  the  dark  hour  of  dan- 
ger, fearless.  In  the  bright  hour  of  prosperity,  faithful.  It  was  not  the  instant 
feeling  and  pressure  of  the  arm  of  despotism  that  roused  them  to  resist,  but  the 
principle  on  which  that  arm  was  extended.  They  could  have  paid  the  stamp-ta.x. 
and  the  tea-tax,  and  the  other  impositions  of  the  British  government,  had  they 
been  increased  a  t,housand-fold.  But  payment  acknowledged  the  right;  and 
they  spurned  the  consequences  of  that  acknowledgment.  In  spite  of  those  acta 
they  could  have  lived  and  happily,  and  bought  and  sold,  and  got  gain,  and  been 
at  ease.  But  they  would  have  held  those  blessings  on  the  tenure  of  dependence 
on  a  foreign  and  distant  power,  at  the  mercy  of  a  king  or  his  minions,  or  of  coun- 
cils in  which  they  had  no  voice,  and  where  their  interests  could  not  be  repre- 
sented, and  were  little  likely  to  be  heai'd.  They  saw  that  their  prosperitj'  in 
such  case  would  be  precarious ;  their  possessions  unceiiain  ;  their  ease  inglorious. 
But  above  all  they  realized  that  those  burdens,  though  Hght  to  them,  would,  to 
the  coming  age,  —  to  us,  their  posterity,  —  be  heavy,  and,  probably,  insupport- 
able. Reasoning  on  the  inevitable  increase  of  interested  imposition  upon  those 
who  are  without  power  and  have  none  to  help,  they  foresaw  that,  sooner  or 
later,  desperate  struggles  must  come.  They  preferred  to  meet  the  trial  in  their 
own  times,  and  to  make  the  sacrifices  in  their  own  persons.  They  were  willing 
themselves  to  endure  the  toil  and  to  incur  the  hazard,  that  we  and  our  descend- 
ants,—  their  posterity,  —  might  reap  the  harvest,  and  enjoy  the  increase. 

Generous  men  !  exalted  patiiots  !  immortal  statesmen  !  For  this  deep,  moral, 
and  social  affection,  for  this  elevated  self-devotion,  this  noble  purpose,  this  bold 
daring,  the  multiplying  myriads  of  your  posterity,  as  they  thicken  along  the 
Atlantic  coast,  from  the  St.  Croix  to  the  IMississijjjji,  as  they  spread  backwards 
to  the  lakes,  and  from  the  lakes  to  the  mountains,  and  from  the  mountains  to  the 
western  waters,  shall,  on  this  day,  annually,  in  all  future  time,  as  we  at  this  hour, 
come  up  to  the  temple  of  the  Most  High,  with  song  and  anthem  and  thanksgiv- 
ing and  choral  symphony  and  hallelujah,  to  rej^eat  your  names,  to  look  stead- 
fastly on  the  brightness  of  your  glory  ;  to  trace  its  spreading  rays  to  the  points 
from  which  they  emanate  ;  and  to  seek,  in  your  character  and  conduct,  a  prac- 
tical illustration  of  public  duty,  in  every  occurring,  social  exigence. 

In  the  rapid  view  I  am  compelled  to  take  of  the  genius  and  character  of  our 
revolution,  I  shall  chiefly  fix  my  eye  on  this  State,  town,  and  vicinity.  Let  other 
States  and  cities  celebrate  vnth  due  honors  the  great  men  whose  lights  cluster  in 
their  peculiar  sky.  Massachusetts  has  a  constellation  of  her  own,  exceeded  by 
none  in  brightness,  yielding  to  none  in  power,  surpassed  by  none  in  influence, 
during  the  first  stages  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  In  this  State  and  in  tliis 
meti'opoHs  were  exhibited;  among  the  earliest,  those  generous  virtues  and  that 
noble  daring  which  electrified  the  Continent. 


424  APPENDIX. 

If  it  be  asked  in  wliat  the  peculiar  glory  of  our  fathers  in  that  day  consisted, 
this  is  my  answer.  It  consisted  in  perfectly-performed  duty,  according  to  the 
measure  of  that  perfection  which  is  attributable  to  things  human.  Now,  real 
glory,  when  strictly  analyzed  and  reduced  to  its  constituent  principle,  with  all  its 
tinsel  and  dross  separated,  will  be  found  to  consist,  and  to  consist  only  in  truth. 
The  glory  of  contemplation  is  truth  to  nature.  The  glory  of  action  is  truth  to 
the  relations  in  which  man  is  placed,  —  perfect  fulfilment  of  all  the  obligations 
which  result  from  the  condition  of  things  allotted  to  him  by  Providence. 

In  this  point  of  view,  the  glory  of  our  fathers  at  the  revolution  may  be  stated 
in  detail  to  consist  in  being  true  to  their  ancestors,  true  to  themselves,  true  to 
their  posterity,  and,  above  all,  in  being  true  to  virtue  and  liberty. 

Our  fathers,  at  the  Revoliition,  were  true  to  their  ancestors  ;  maintaining  their 
principles,  obeying  their  precepts,  copying  their  example. 

The  Revolution  of  1776  is  called,  and  justly,  a  mighty  struggle  for  independ- 
ence. But  it  was  neither  greater,  bolder,  nor  more  ai'duous,  than  the  emigra- 
tion of  the  first  settlers  to  New  England ;  nor  was  there  incurred  in  it  more 
hazard,  nor  displayed  in  any  of  its  events,  a  more  determined  spirit  of  independ- 
ence, than  were  incurred  and  displayed  by  the  inunediate  descendants  of  those 
settlers,  —  the  direct  progenitors  of  the  authors  of  our  revolution.  ^ 
-  Time  would  fail  me,  were  I  to  attemj^t  to  maintain  this  position  by  historical 
references.     One  or  two  striking  evidences  of  fact  and  opinion  must  suffice. 

The  emigration  itself  of  our  ancestors  was,  in  truth,  only  a  mighty  struggle  for 
independence.  According  to  the  genius  of  the  age,  and  the  particular  bias  of 
our  ancestors'  minds,  their  motive  took  the  aspect  of  a  strong  desire  for  a  higher 
religious  freedom  and  a  purer  foi'm  of  religious  worship.  It  is  impossible,  how- 
ever, not  to  perceive  that  even  this  desire  was  only  a  mode,  under  which  existed 
an  intense  and  all-absorbing  spirit  of  cI^tI  freedom.  In  the  nature  of  things,  it 
could  not  possibly  have  been  otherwise.  They  fled  from  the  persecutions  of  the 
British  hierarchy.  Now  the  strength  of  the  hierarchy  was  in  the  nerve  of  the 
secular  arm.  It  was  that  odious  centaur,  not  fabulous,  church  and  state,  which 
drove  them  for  refuge  into  the  wilderness.  This  monster,  with  a  political  head 
and  an  ecclesiastical  body,  they  hated  and  feared  ;  rejiresenting  their  emigration 
and  sufferings  under  the  familiar  tyj^e  of  the  woman  of  the  Apocalypse,  who  fled 
"  into  the  wilderness,  to  a  place  prepared  of  God,  from  the  face  of  the  beast." 

We  are  apt  to  view  our  ancestors  of  the  first  and  second  generations  in  the 
light  of  enthusiasts.  Now,  if  by  this  term  is  meant,  according  to  its  usual  import, 
"  men,  who  through  a  vain  confidence  in  heaven,  neglect  the  use  of  human 
means,"  there  never  existed  a  class  of  men  less  entitled  to  that  appellation  than 
our  fathers.  Of  all  men,  they  were  the  most  practical.  Their  whole  history,  the 
colleges,  schools,  churches,  all  the  institutions  they  founded,  constitute  one 
unbroken  series  of  examples  of  the  wise  and  happy  use  of  human  means.  As  to 
their  opinions,  take,  instead  of  a  multitude  which  might  be  adduced,  a  single 
example.  In  that  famous  work  entitled  "  Faithful  Advice  to  the  Churches  of 
New  England,"  sent  out  into  the  world  under  the  auspices  of  our  fathers,  having 
the  signatures  of  both  the  Mathers,  Davenpoi-t,  Colman,  and  others,  there  is  the 
following  remarkable  vindication  of  the  use  of  hiunan  learning  in  religion,  urged 
with  their  characteristic  acuteness. 

"  No  man  ever  decried  learning  without  being  an  enemy  to  religion,  whether 


APPENDIX.  425 

he  knew  it  or  no.  "^Vlicn  our  Lord  chose  fishermen  to  he  ministers,  he  would 
not  send  them  forth  until  they  had  been  several  years  under  his  tuition  ;  (a  bet 
ter  than  the  best  in  any  college  under  heaven)  and  then,  also,  he  miraculously 
furnished  them  with  more  learning  than  any  of  us,  by  seven  years  hard  study, 
can  attain  unto." 

It  would  be  easy  also  to  adduce  abundant  evidence  of  the  free  opinions  enter- 
tained by  the  first  settlers,  relative  to  the  right  of  resistance  to  kings  and  to  per- 
sonal and  colonial  freedom,  by  quotations  from  approved  authors  of  that  period. 
A  single  exti-act  from  the  writings  of  Nathaniel  Ward,  the  first  clergyman  of  the 
town  of  Ipswich,  in  this  vicinity,  will  sufficiently  manifest  the  temper  and  spirit 
of  our  ancestors  in  that  age  on  those  points.  This  writer  was  so  higlily  esteemed 
by  our  ancestors,  that  he  was  employed  in  1G39  by  the  General  Court  of  Massa- 
chusetts to  draft  that  code,  consisting  of  one  hundred  laws,  called  "  the  body  of 
liberties  "  of  the  Colony.  In  an  eccentric,  but  highly  popular  work  in  that  day, 
published  by  him  in  1647,  entitled  "The  Simple  Cobbler  of  Agawam  in  Ame- 
rica," the  contest,  then  carrying  on  between  the  King  and  Parliament,  is  repre- 
sented under  the  similitude  of  a  controversy  between  royal  prerogative  (majestas 
imperii)  and  popular  liberty  (salus  populi)  and  is  thus  stated  in  the  quaint  lan- 
guage of  that  day :  — 

We  hear  that  Majestas  Imperii  hath  challenged  Salus  Populi  into  the  field ; 
the  one  fighting  for  prerogatives,  the  other  defending  liberties.  If  Salus  Populi 
began,  surely  it  was  not  that  Salus  Populi  I  left  in  England.  That  Salus  Populi 
was  as  mannerly  a  Salus  Populi  as  need  be.  If  I  be  not  much  deceived,  that 
Salus  Populi  suffered  its  nose  to  be  held  to  the  grindstone  till  it  was  ground  to 
the  gristle  ;  and  yet  grew  never  the  sharper,  for  aught  I  could  discern.  I  think 
that  since  the  world  began,  it  was  never  storied  that  Salus  Populi  began  with 
Majestas  Imperii,  unless  Majestas  Lnperii  first  unharbored  it  and  hunted  It  to  a 
stand,  and  then  it  must  turn  head  and  live,  or  turn  tail  and  die.  Common- 
wealths cost  as  much  in  the  making  as  crowns ;  and  if  they  be  well  made,  would 
yet  outsel  an  ill-fashioned  crown  in  any  market  overt,  if  they  be  well-vouched. 

"  But  preces  and  laclirymoi  are  the  people's  weapons  ;  so  are  swords  and  pis- 
tols, when  God  and  ParHament  bid  them  arm.  Prayers  and  tears  are  good 
weapons  for  them  that  have  nothing  but  knees  and  eyes ;  but  most  men  have 
teeth  and  nails.  If  subjects  must  fight  for  their  kings  against  other  kingdoms 
when  their  kings  will,  I  know  no  reason  but  they  may  fight  against  their  kings 
for  their  own  kingdoms  when  Parliament  say  they  may  and  must.  But  Parlia- 
ment must  not  say  they  must  until  God  says  they  may." 

The  bold  spirit  of  liberty  which  characterized  the  first  settlers  of  New  Eng- 
land cannot  be  too  highly  appreciated  by  their  posterity.  Neither  are  their 
wisdom  and  prudence  in  maintaining  their  liberties,  less  subjects  of  admiration 
and  applause.  What  state  paper  exists  more  solemn  or  comprehensive  than  that 
memorable  order,  by  which  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  in  1660,  caused 
a  committee  to  be  raised  to  consider  the  consequences  to  theii-  liberties  to  be 
anticipated  from  the  restoration  of  Charles  11.  ? 

"  Forasmuch  as  the  present  condition  of  our  affairs,  In  matters  of  the  highest 

concernment,  calls  for  diligent  and  speedy  use  of  the  best  means,  seriously  to 

discuss  and  rightly  to  understand  our  liberty  and  duty ;  thercliy  to  lieget  unity 

among  ourselves  in  the  due  observance  of  obedience  to  the  authority  of  England 

36* 


426  APPENDIX. 

and  our  own  just  privileges,  for  the  effecting  whereof  it  is  ordered  that  Simon 
Bradstreet,  &c.  be  a  committee  to  consider  and  debate  such  matter  or  thing  of 
public  concernment,  touching  our  patent,  laws,  privileges,  and  duty  to  his 
Majesty,  as  they  may  judge  expedient,  that  so  (if  the  will  of  God  be)  we  may 
speak  and  act  the  same  thing,  becoming  prudent,  honest,  conscientious,  and 
faithful  men." 

Now  what  their  notion  of  these  "just  privileges"  was,  may  be  gathered  from 
"  their  refusing  to  make  the  oath  of  allegiance  necessary ; "  "  refusing  to  cause 
proceedings  at  law  to  be  in  the  name  of  the  King."  "  Maintaining  that  liberty 
of  conscience  justified  their  removal  to  this  quarter  of  the  world;  that  with 
removal  their  subjection  to  England  ceased ;  and  that  the  sovereignty  of  the 
soil  was  in  them,  because  purchased  by  them  of  the  native  princes."  l    - 

That  these  were  doctrines  holden  and  avowed  by  "  persons  of  influence," 
among  the  early  emigrants  to  New  England  we  know  from  history.  Their 
patent,  or  old  charter  itself,  was  in  fact  only  an  incorporation  for  trade,  turned 
by  the  dexterity  of  the  first  settlers  into  a  civil  sovereignty.  And  the  real  cause 
of  their  extreme  attachment  to  it  was,  that,  under  color  of  that  instrument,  they 
chose  their  own  rulers  and  judges,  made  laws,  and  in  efiect  were  an  independ- 
ent state. 

How  this  theory  of  the  ancient  leaders  of  ^Massachusetts  was  seconded  by  the 
spirit  of  the  people,  will  be  apparent  from  a  single  transaction  of  a  somewhat 
later  period.  During  the  reign  of  King  James  11.,  our  fathers  had  been  insulted 
by  the  dissolution  of  their  charter,  and  oppressed  by  the  proceedings  of  the 
King's  Commissioners.  The  leadei-s  of  the  Colony  were  indignant.  The  people 
were  stung  to  madness. 

On  the  eighteenth  of  April,  1689,  —  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  of  April 
are  red-letter  days  in  the  calendar  of  American  hberty,  —  on  the  eighteenth  of 
April,  1689,  say  our  historians,  there  came  up  from  North  Boston,  —  that  noi-th- 
ern  hive  has  been  famous  in  all  times  for  a  hardy,  industrious,  and  intrepid  race 
of  men,  — -  there  came  up  from  North  Boston  a  multitude  of  men  and  boys  run- 
ning. The  drums  beat.  The  people  ran  to  their  aims.  They  rushed  to  Fort 
Hill,  where  was  then  a  formidable  fortification,  "  standing  so  thick  that  one  gun 
from  the  fort  would  have  killed  a  hundred  of  them;  but  God  prevented! "2 
They  scaled  the  sconce,  and,  seizing  the  lower  battery,  they  turned  the  guns 
"  on  the  red  coats  in  the  fort,"  who  surrendering  at  discretion,  they  took  the 
King's  Council  prisoners,  and  put  the  Icing's  Governor  under  guard ;  they  sent 
the  captain  of  the  Iving's  frigate  to  jail ;  and  turned  the  batteries  on  the  King's 
frigate  herself;  and  the  country  people  coming  in,  the  elders  and  fathers  took 
possession  of  the  King's  government ;  and  thus  was  effected  a  glorious  revolution 
here  in  ISIassachusetts  thirty  days  before  it  was  known  that  Iving  William  of 
glorious  memory  had  just  efiected  a  similar  glorious  revolution  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Atlantic. 

It  is  very  obvious  that  the  fiite  of  New  England  was  suspended  on  the  fate  of 
the  Prince  of  Orange.  Had  he  failed,  our  ancestors  of  that  day  would  have  had 
to  expiate  the  guilt  of  treason  in  exile,  or  confiscation,  or  on  the  scaffold.    How 

^  Hutchinson's  Ifist.  of  Mass.  vol.  i.  ch.  2. 
2  Hutchinson's  Hist.  v.  i.  ch.  3. 


APPENDIX.  427 

truly  tten  may  it  be  said  that  the  spirit  of  our  ancestors  of  the  first  aj^e  was  emu- 
lated by  the  immediate  authors  of  our  independence,  and  that  these  desccndante 
were  true  to  the  example  and  glory  of  their  predecessors  ! 

If  we  descend  from  the  era  of  the  English  Revolution  to  the  mifldle  of  the  last 
century,  we  find  the  same  daring  spirit  of  liberty  promulgated,  not  ])y  irresponsi- 
ble scribblers,  in  anonymous  pamphlets,  but  by  the  highest  colonial  lawyers  on 
the  floor  of  state,  and  by  the  most  learned  colonial  clergy  from  their  pulpits. 
Take,  for  example,  an  extract  from  a  sermon,  entitled  "  A  Discourse  concerning 
Unlimited  Submission  to  the  Higher  Poioers,  tvith  some  Reflections  on  the  Resist' 
ance  to  King  Charles  I.,  and  on  the  Anniversa7-y  of  his  Death,  in  which  the  Myste- 
rious Doctrine  of  that  Prince's  Saintship  and  Martyrdom  is  unriddled.  Preached 
by  Jonathan  Mayhew,  Pastor  of  the  West  Church  in  Boston.  Among  other 
doctrines,  not  less  bold  and  decisive,  he  lays  down  the  following :  — 

"  A  people  really  oppressed  to  a  great  degree  by  their  sovereign,  cannot  well 
be  insensible  when  they  are  so  oppressed.  And  such  a  people,  if  I  may  allude 
to  an  ancient  fable,  have,  like  the  Hesperian  fruit,  a  dragon  for  their  protector 
and  guardian.  Nor  would  they  have  any  reason  to  mourn,  if  some  Hercules 
should  appear  to  despatch  him.  For  ^a  nation  thus  abused,  to  arise  unanimously 
and  to  resist  their  prince,  even  to  the  dethroning  him,  is  not  criminal ;  but  a  rea- 
sonable way  of  vindicating  their  liberties  and  just  rights." 

Now  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  discourse  was  preached  six-and-twenty 
years  before  the  era  of  our  Revolution,  by  the  most  learned  and  popular  jjreacher 
of  his  day  ;  that  it  was  published  "  at  the  request  of  his  hearers ; "  that  the  thing 
was  not  done  in  a  corner,  nor  circulated  in  a  whisper,  but  as  the  title-page  has 
it,  Anno,  1 750.  Boston :  New  England.  "  Printed  and  sold  by  D.  Fowle,  in 
Queen  Street,  and  by  D.  Gookin,  over  against  the  Old  South  Meeting  House." 

There  is  no  need  of  further  proof  that  the  fathers  of  our  Revolution  were  true 
to  their  ancestors,  both  distant  and  immediate  ;  obeying  their  precepts,  copying  . 
their  examples,  and  acting  up  to  their  characters. 

It  remains  for  us  to  observe,  that  the  fathers  of  our  Revolution  were  also,  true 
to  themselves  and  true  to  posterity ;  and  in  this,  above  all,  that  they  were  true 
to  virtue  and  liberty. 

There  were  three  great  principles,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  our  ancestors,  in 
every  age,  constituted  the  essence  of  colonial  liberty ;  and  with  which,  in  their 
minds,  it  was  identified. 

1.  That  their  rulers  and  judges  should  be  chosen  by,  and  responsible  to  them- 


2.  That  the  right  of  laying  taxes  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  Colonies  should 
belong  exclusively  to  their  own  representatives. 

3.  That  their  religious  rights  should  depend  wholly  on  their  colonial  laws  and 
constitutions. 

The  first  of  these  principles  was  the  object  of  the  struggles  of  the  first  settlei-s 
of  New  England  and  their  immediate  descendants.  They  exercised  this  liberty 
between  fifty  and  sixty  years.  They  lost  it  by  the  dissolution  of  their  old  char- 
ter. That  of  William  and  Mary  did  not  restore  it.  Among  other  obnoxious 
provisions  in  this  last  charter,  the  appointment  of  the  Governor,  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  and  Secretary,  with  a  qualified,  appellate,  judicial  jurisdiction,  was 
reserved  to  the  Crown. 


428  APPENDIX. 

The  loss  of  tliis  branch  of  liberty  was  submitted  to  with  reluctance,  and 
endured  with  great  impatience.  The  deep  yearning  of  our  fathers'  hearts  after 
their  ancient  liberty  is  to  be  seen  in  every  subsequent  page  of  their  political  his- 
tory, and  was  one  of  the  active,  though  hidden  causes  of  our  Revolution. 

On  the  second  great  principle  of  colonial  liberty,  that  taxation  and  represent- 
ation are  inseparable,  the  American  Revolution  turned. 

Now,  the  just  estimate  made  by  our  fathers  of  the  importance  of  that  princi- 
ple, —  the  self-devotion  with  which  they  maintained  it,  the  boldness  with  which 
they  put  in  jeopardy  life,  hberty,  property,  reputation,  whatever  man  holds  dear 
in  hope  or  in  possession  to  vindicate  it,  —  are  the  great  central  points  from 
which  radiates  their  glory  at  the  Revolution. 

At  a  superficial  view,  we  are  inclined  to  wonder  at  the  inflexible  firmness  of 
our  fathers,  in  opposition  to  the  stamp  and  tea  taxes,  and  the  other  British  impo- 
sitions at  that  period.  The  amount  small ;  comparatively  httle  burdensome ;  for 
the  most  part  affecting  articles  of  luxuiy  or  of  occasional  use.  We  are  tempted 
to  exclaim,  what  grievous  oppression  in  aU  this  ?  A  single  year  of  war  would 
exceed  in  expense  the  loss  in  fifty  years  from  such  taxes.  And  when  we  look  at 
the  subject  in  point  of  principle,  their  condition  would  not  have  been  a  whit 
worse  than  immense  classes  of  British  subjects  who  pay  taxes  ■tvithout  having 
any  voice  in  the  choice  of  their  rulers.  Argiunents  and  facts  of  this  kind  were 
urged  on  our  fathers  in  every  form  of  reason  and  eloquence ;  enfoi-ced  by 
appeals  to  their  hopes  from  the  smiles  of  royal  favor ;  by  appeals  to  their  fears 
from  the  terrors  of  royal  power.  But  they  stood  as  the  mountain  rock,  which 
alike  mocks  the  melting  heat  of  the  summer's  sun,  and  the  uprooting  blasts  of  the 
winter's  storm.  By  such  considerations,  the  flame  of  their  enkindled  zeal  was 
neither  quenched  nor  allayed.  Their  unyielding  fixedness  of  principle  in  this 
respect  does  infinite  credit  to  their  sagacity  and  virtue. 

For  when  we  consider  more  carefully  this  ^^rinciple,  so  earnestly  asserted  by 
Great  Britain,  and  so  resolutely  resisted  by  our  fathers,  we  shall  find  that,  to 
hmnan  view,  it  contained  the  whole  hope  of  American  independence  for  the 
then  present  and  all  future  times.  The  possibility  of  American  independence 
at  any  time  depended  upon  the  union  of  the  Colonies  in  some  common  principle 
of  opposition  to  the  pretensions  of  Great  Britain.  Now,  this  right  being  con- 
ceded, it  was  scarce  possible  that  any  such  common  principle  should  exist ;  much 
less  become  a  bond  of  union  among  the  Colonies.  This  right  admitted,  every 
thing  else  was  but  mode  and  measure,  —  an  afiair  of  discretion.  "What  hope 
that  they,  who  could  not  unite  in  resistance  to  the  whole  right,  could  be  ever 
brought  to  combine  in  resistance  to  a  particularly  oppressive  degree  in  the  exer- 
cise of  it  ?  Besides,  how  easy  would  it  have  been  for  Great  Britain,  by  settling 
any  obnoxious  degree,  in  mode  or  measure,  differently  In  different  colonies,  to 
take  from  some  all  motive  to  cooperate  In  the  resistance  of  others !  Tliis  princi- 
ple, therefore,  being  yielded,  there  was  to  human  view  no  subsequent  hope  of 
independence  for  tlie  Colonies.  That  principle  was  worthy,  therefore,  of  all  the 
importance  attached  to  it  by  our  fathers;  worthy  of  all  the  sacrifices  they  made 
in  its  defence.  Their  foresight,  their  energy  and  inflexible  spirit  on  this  j^oint, 
are  among  the  brightest  beams  in  the  glory  of  that  day. 

Of  a  similar  type  is  the  self-denial  to  which  they  submitted,  and  the  hazards 
which  they  voluntarily  incurred  for  the  sake  of  that  principle.     By  submission, 


APPENDIX. 


429 


they  would,  in  tlieir  own  time,  have  enjoyed  peace,  secured  plenty,  attained 
external  protection  under  the  shield  of  Great  Britain,  and  in  the  gradual 
advance  of  society,  they  had  reason  to  expect  to  arrive,  even  in  tlic  colonial 
state,  at  a  very  elevated  and  enviable  condition  of  prosperity.  On  tlic  (jtlier 
hand,  what  were  the  hazards  of  resistance  ?  —  The  untried,  and  n(}t  to  l)e  esti- 
mated perils  of  civil  war  ;  —  "  a  people  in  the  gristle,  and  not  yet  hunUinod  into 
the  bone  of  manhood,"  to  rush  on  the  thick  bosses  of  the  buckler  oi"  the  most 
powerful  State  in  Europe,  the  one  most  capable  of  annoying  them,  —  without  arms 
or  resources,  to  enter  the  Usts  with  the  best  appointed  nation  on  the  globe ; desti- 
tute of  a  sloop  of  war,  to  wage  hostilities  with  a  country  whose  navies  com- 
manded every  sea  and  even  their  own  harbors.  In  case  of  success,  —  the  chance 
of  anarchy  and  the  unknown  casualties  attending  a  new  organization  of  society. 
In  case  of  failure,  —  exile,  confiscation,  the  scaffold,  the  fate  of  some  ;  to  bear  the 
opprobrious  names  of  rebel  and  traitor,  and  to  transmit  them  to  a  disgraced 
posterity,  the  fate  of  all. 

What  appeals  to  selfishness  !  what  to  cupidity !  what  to  love  of  ease,  to  fear, 
and  to  pusillanimity  !  But  our  fathers  took  counsel  of  a  different  spirit,  —  of  the 
pure  ethereal  spirit  which  glowed  and  burned  in  their  own  bosoms.  In  spite  of 
the  greatness  of  the  temptation  and  the  certainty  of  the  hazard,  they  resisted ; 
and  the  front  ranks  of  opposition  were  filled,  not  by  a  needy,  promiscuous, 
unknown,  and  iiTCsponsible  crowd,  but  by  the  heart  and  mind  and  strength 
of  the  Colony ;  by  the  calm  and  calculating  merchant ;  by  the  cautious  capi- 
talist ;  by  the  sedate  and  pious  divine  ;  by  the  far-looking,  deep-read  lawyer ; 
by  the  laborious  and  inteUigent  mechanic.  We  have  no  need  to  repeat  names. 
The  entire  soul  and  sense  and  sinew  of  society  were  in  action. 

The  spirit  of  our  Kevolution  is  not  to  be  sought  in  tliis  or  that  individual,  nor 
in  this  or  that  order  of  men.  It  was  the  mighty  energy  of  the  whole  mass.  It 
was  the  momentous  heaving  of  the  troubled  ocean,  roused  indeed  by  the  coming 
tempest,  but  propelled  onward  by  the  lashing  of  its  own  waters,  and  by  the 
awful,  irresistible  impulse  of  deep-seated  passion  and  power. 

In  this  movement,  those  who  were  foremost  were  not  always  those  of  most 
influence ;  nor  were  the  exciting  causes  always  the  most  obtrusive  to  the  eye. 
All  were  pressed  forward  by  the  spirit  inherent  in  the  community ;  by  force  of 
public  opinion  and  sense  of  duty,  which  never  fell  behind,  but  was  often  in 
advance  of  those  who  were  called  leaders. 

The  event  has  shown  that  our  fathers  judged  rightly  in  this  movement ;  that 
their  conception  was  just  concerning  their  means  and  their  duties ;  that  they 
were  equal  to  the  crisis  in  which  Providence  had  j^laced  them  ;  that,  daring  to 
be  free,  their  power  was  equal  to  their  daring.  They  vinchcated  hberty  for  them- 
selves ;  they  transmitted  it  to  us,  their  posterity.  There  is  no  truer  glory,  no 
higher  fame  known  or  to  be  acquired  among  men. 

How  different  would  have  been  our  lot  at  this  day,  both  as  men  and  citizens, 
had  the  Revolution  failed  of  success,  or  had  the  great  principle  of  liberty  on 
which  it  turned  been  yielded.  Instead  of  a  people  free,  enlightened,  rejoicing  in 
their  strength,  possessing  a  just  consciousness  of  being  the  authors  and  arbiters 
of  their  own  and  their  country's  destinies,  we  should  have  been  a  multitude  with- 
out pride  of  independence,  without  sense  of  state  or  national  sovereignty,  looking 
across  the  ocean  for  our  rulers ;  watching  the  Atlantic  sky,  as  the  cloud  of  com-t 


430  APPENDIX. 

locusts,  tempted  by  our  greenness,  came  warping  on  tlie  eastern  breeze ;  waiting 
on  the  strand  to  catch  the  first  glimpse  of  our  descending  master,  —  some  trans- 
atlantic chieftain,  some  royal  favorite,  some  court  sycophant,  —  sent  to  govern  a 
country,  without  knowing  its  interests,  without  sjinpathy  in  its  prospects ;  resting 
in  another  hemisphere  the  hopes  of  his  fame  and  fortune.  Our  judges  coming 
from  afar ;  our  merchants  denied  all  commerce  except  with  the  parent  state ; 
our  clergy  sent  us,  like  our  clothes,  ready  made,  and  cut  in  the  newest  court 
fashion.  None  but  conformists  allowed  to  vote ;  none  but  churchmen  eligible. 
Our  civil  rights  subject  to  crown  officers ;  our  rehgious,  to  a  foreign  hierarchy, 
cold,  selfish,  vindictive,  distant,  solicitous  about  glebes  and  tithes,  but  reckless 
among  us  of  the  spread  of  the  -light  of  learning  or  the  influence  of  the  gospel. 

How  different  also  would  have  been  the  fate  and  aspect  of  the  present  age, 
had  the  American  Revolution  never  commenced,  or  had  it  failed  !  Under  Pro- 
vidence, this  Revolution  has  been  the  chief,  if  not  the  sole  cause  of  that  impulse 
to  the  human  mind,  which,  during  the  last  half  century,  has  changed  the  face  of 
Europe,  and  elevated  the  hope  of  man.  The  light  of  truth  and  reason  reflected 
across  the  Atlantic  from  the  mighty  mirror  of  American  liberty,  penetrated  the 
cottages  of  peasants  and  the  cabinets  of  kings.  The  multitude  were  propelled 
upon  thrones.  Kings  have  consequently  been  induced  to  softGn  the  rigors  of 
ancient  servitude.  In  every  part  of  Eui'ope  the  chains  of  subjects  are  lightened. 
Sovereigns  daily  reaUze,  more  and  more,  the  necessity  of  admitting  the  people 
to  a  voice  in  their  councils,  and  to  a  qualified  weight  in  state  affairs.  Under  the 
influence  of  this  condition  of  things,  knowledge  has  been  increased  and  diffused ; 
the  rights  of  man  vindicated ;  a  free  intercourse  of  conunerce,  science,  and  arts 
introduced  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  unparalleled  in  human  history,  and 
giving  pi'omise  of  an  advancement  in  freedom,  morals,  and  refinement,  exceed- 
ing the  hope  or  conception  of  former  times.  Under  these  ausi^ices,  the  patriotic 
theories  and  visions  of  Milton,  Plarrington,  Algernon  Sidney,  and  Locke,  are 
beginning  to  be  realized ;  the  capacity  of  man  to  govern  himself  to  be  demon- 
strated ;  the  great  truth  promulgated  and  carried  home  to  the  bosoms  of  all  sove- 
reigns, even  the  most  arbitrary,  that  they  who  would  govern  man  long  must 
govern  him  justly,  and  treat  him  as  a  rational,  accountable,  and  moral  being ; 
that  they  must  respect  his  essential  rights,  and  even  towards  servitude  itself, 
recognize  the  principles  of  a  substantial  freedom. 

Such  was  the  genius  and  character,  and  such  the  proud  results  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution ;  such  the  glory  of  our  fathers ;  such  the  glowing  points  from 
which  that  glory  radiates. 

It  is  suitable,  and  it  is  our  duty  on  this  occasion  to  inquire,  what  it  is  to  main- 
tain that  genius  and  character  ?  what  it  is  to  deserve,  and  what  to  disgrace  those 
ancestors  ? 

In  listening  to  the  preceding  development,  fellow-citizens,  it  Is  impossible  that 
each  of  you  should  not  have  realized,  Individually,  your  Interest  In  the  cliaracter 
and  conduct  of  our  fathers.  It  Is  a  law  of  nature.  The  virtue  and  glory  of 
fathers  Is  the  most  precious  inheritance  of  their  posterity.  By  this  law,  an  Indis- 
soluble, moi-al  union,  connects  times  past  and  future  with  times  present.  With- 
out that  law,  man  would  be  a  creature  of  the  day,  grovelling  in  selfishness,  wal- 
lowing in  the  mire  of  sense,  with  eye  and  taste  and  thought  all  downward,  with 
no  backward  regard,  with  no  forward  hope,  with  no  upward  aim.     But  this  eter- 


APPENDIX. 


431 


nal,  moral  connection,  which  is  established  by  Providence  in  his  nature,  '^ivcg 
him,  as  it  were,  existence  in  the  days  of  old,  and  existence  in  (he  times  wliifih 
are  to  come  ;  and  instead  of  a  being  destined,  as  the  term  of  his  natural  life 
seems  to  indicate,  to  exist  only  a  few  short  years,  bestows  upon  him,  even  in  thi3 
world,  a  glorious  immortality. 

By  this  law  it  is  made  the  duty  of  man  in  every  age,  in  gratitude  for  the  inhe- 
ritance he  receives,  to  transmit  it  faithfully  to  those  who  succeed ;  not  dimi- 
nished, not  corrupted,  not  soiled,  but  if  possible  enlarged,  strengthened,  purified, 
increased  both  in  splendor  and  usefulness. 

The  occurring  circumstances  of  every  age  make  indeed  the  duties  of  each  suc- 
ceeding generation  different.  But  in  consulting  concerning  those  duties,  it  will 
not  be  difficult  for  this  or  any  future  age  to  determine  in  what  they  consist,  pro- 
vided, according  to  the  example,  and  in  the  language  of  our  fathers,  we  endea- 
vor "  so  to  understand  our  liberty  and  duty  as  to  beget  unity  among  ourselves, 
and  to  act  and  speak  as  becomes  prudent,  honest,  conscientious,  and  faithful 
men." 

It  is  true,  that  we  in  this  age  are  not  called  as  our  fathers  were,  to  take  our 
lives  in  our  hands,  and  bare  our  breasts  to  the  tempest  and  shock  of  war.  But 
such  dangers  and  sacrifices  are  not  essential  to  the  existence  of  true  glory.  This, 
as  I  have  endeavored  to  illustrate,  consists  not  in  the  particular  part  we  are 
called  to  act,  but  in  the  manner  in  which  we  perform  the  part  to  which  we  are 
called.  The  essence  of  true  glory  is  principle.  Our  fathers  endured  the  hard- 
ships and  despised  the  dangers  of  the  field  of  battle,  not  for  the  sake  of  the  spe- 
cies of  glory  there  to  be  acquired,  but  because  battle  was  the  mode  appointed  by 
Providence  for  them  to  vindicate  their  truth  to  the  relations  of  things  in  which  it 
Lad  placed  them.  They  could,  in  no  other  mode,  have  fiilfilled  their  duty  to 
those  relations. 

Now  this  glory  is  just  as  applicable  to  us  as  to  them.  The  labors  and  sacrifices 
of  our  fathers  have  indeed  left  us  a  noble  inheritance.  But  our  tenure  of  that 
inheritance  is  not  absolute,  but  conditional.'  If  we  would  maintain  it  and  tratns- 
mit  it  unimpaired  to  our  posterity,  we  must,  Hke  our  fathers,  be  true  to  the  rela- 
tion of  things  in  which  we  stand ;  and  particularly  to  those  in  which  we  stand 
to  that  very  inheritance.  Now,  truth  to  those  relations,  as  it  respects  us,  con- 
sists in  our  fulfilling  the  conditions  on  which  the  continuance  of  that  inheritance 
depends.  These  conditions  are,  —  that  we  understand  our  liberties;  that  we 
value  them  as  we  ought ;  that  we  are  willing  to  make  the  sacrifices  of  time,  labor, 
and  attention  necessary  for  the  preserving  them,  and  are  vigilant  in  defending 
them,  not  against  external  foes,  to  which,  in  all  probability,  we  shall  never  be 
called,  but  against  a  much  more  insidious  foe,  —  the  passion,  corruption,  and 
weakness  of  our  own  hearts. 

The  great  principle  for  which  our  fathers  contended,  and  the  maintaining  of 
which  constituted  their  glory  was,  in  fact,  the  right  of  self-government, — the 
right  of  choosing  their  own  rulers  ;  in  other  words,  the  right  of  possessing  them- 
selves, and  of  transmitting  to  posterity  the  elective  franchise  in  its  most  pure  and 
perfect  state.  Now,  this  great  privilege  it  belongs  to  us  to  maintain  b}-  a  right 
and  wise  use  of  it ;  and  to  transmit  it  to  posterity  the  purer  by  our  example,  the 
safer  by  our  use,  and  the  more  precious  from  the  obvious  blessings  resulting  from 
this  our  fidelity.     This  is  our  duty.    In  this  consists  our  glory. 


432  APPENDIX. 

Let  every  man,  therefore,  who  inquires  what  it  is  to  deserve,  and  what  it  is  to 
disgrace  our  ancestors,  consider  his  conduct  in  this  respect.  Let  him  ask  him- 
self, whether  he  truly  appreciates  the  nature  and  greatness  of  that  privilege ; 
whether  he  is  faithful  to  liberty,  to  morals,  and  religion,  in  the  exercise  of  it ; 
whether  he  is  indiiferent  about  it,  or  neglects  it,  or  sports  with  it.  And  so  let 
every  man  answer  for  himself;  his  own  conscience  being  his  judge.  And  let  all 
remember  that,  in  the  ways  of  Providence  to  nations,  as  Well  as  to  individuals, 
there  is  retribution  as  well  as  favor.  No  people  ever  did,  or  ever  can,  long  enjoy 
any  privilege,  and,  least  of  all,  the  elective  franchise,  who  systematically  under- 
value it,  or  abuse  it,  or  are  even  indifferent  about  it. 

Again,  truth  to  liberty,  to  virtue,  to  our  ancestors,  and  to  the  relation  of  things 
in  which  we  stand,  has  respect  also  to  the  manner  in  which  we  conduct  towards 
those  on  whom  the  elective  lot  has  fallen,  and  in  whose  favor  it  has  been 
declared. 

It  is  the  nature  of  man,  under  a  free  constitution,  to  divide  into  parties, 
according  to  that  diversity  of  views,  interest,  opinions,  passions,  and  even  fancies, 
which  are  inseparable  from  his  constitution.  This  condition  of  things  is  not  to 
be  deprecated  or  condemned.     It  is  to  be  understood  and  acted  upon. 

Now,  the  duty  which  each  individual  in  a  free  republic  owes'  to  rulers  is  just 
the  same,  whether  they  do  or  do  not  belong  to  the  particular  sect  or  party  he 
happens  to  prefer.  Truth  to  the  relations  of  things  in  which  we  stand,  requires 
that  our  rulers  should  be  judged,  not  by  any  previous  prejudice  or  theory,  but 
by  their  conduct  while  in  power ;  by  the  measures  they  recommend  and  counte- 
nance. These  measures  are  to  be  received  in  a  candid,  generous  spirit,  and  with 
fair  and  manly  construction.  Those,  therefore,  will  be  false  to  the  genius  and 
character  of  our  Revolution,  who,  regardless  of  the  measures  of  rulers,  shall 
wage  war  upon  them,  merely  because  they  do  not  belong  to  their  own  particular 
sect  or  party,  or  who  shall  decry  wise  measures  or  misrepresent  the  motives  of 
just  ones,  with  the  sole  view  of  pulling  down  one  individual  or  of  building  up 
another ;  or  who,  making  the  liberty  of  debate  or  of  the  Ytvess  a  cloak  for  licen- 
tiousness, shall  pervert  both  or  either  to  purposes  of  malevolence  or  slander. 

Above  all,  those  will  be  false  to  the  genius  and  character  of  our  Revolution 
who  shall  associate  themselves  with  political  leaders  without  reference  to  princi- 
ples ;  who  shall  deny  rulers  the  chance  to  show  their  real  projects  by  the  course 
of  their  administration,  but  shall  wage  war  upon  them  from  the  very  beginning, 
on  the  principle  of  political  extermination. 

There  can  be  no  surer  sign  that  the  liberties  of  a  people  are  hastening  to  a 
dissolution  than  their  countenancing  those  who  form  parties  on  men  and  not 
upon  principles.  Whenever  the  only  question  is,  whether  Cicsar  or  Pompey, 
Lepidus  or  Mark  Anthony  shall  rule,  and  the  people  are  corrupt  or  debased 
enough,  from  mere  personal  affection  or  preference  to  flock  to  either  standard, 
such  a  people  arc  not  far  distant  from  a  revolution  which  will  not  leave  them 
even  the  poor  privilege  of  choosing  their  own  masters. 

Thus  you  perceive,  fellow-citizens,  that  the  glory  of  our  fathers  which  we  this 
day  celebrate,  was  not  of  a  temporary  or  individual  character ;  that  there  is 
nothing  exclusive  in  its  nature  ;  that  It  may  be  shared  and  emulated  by  the  truly 
noble  of  our  race  in  every  age  ;  that  it  essentially  consists  in  possessing  and  exhi- 
biting in  all  our  public  relations  a  pure,  just,  elevated,  and  manly  spirit. 


APPENDIX.  433 

And  now,  fellow-citizens,  consider  your  privileges ;  consider  your  duties.  Tiy 
the  virtues  of  your  fathers,  you  have  been  preserved  from  colonial  bondage. 
Beware  lest  you  become  subjected  to  a  more  grievous  bondage  of  ba.so,  igno- 
ble passions.  As  they  subdued  their  enemies  in  the  field,  do  you  subrluc  tho.-c 
enemies  which  have  their  strongholds  in  the  human  heart,  and  which  have 
laid  low  in  the  dust  the  proud  hopes  of  all  former  republics,  —  "  ambition,  ava- 
rice, love  of  riches,  and  the  corruptions  of  prosperity."  i  Be  as  just,  as  temjje- 
rate,  as  moderate  in  preserving  your  liberty,  as  your  fathers  were  bold  and  dar- 
ing in  repelling  the  chains  of  servitude.  Be  penetrated  with  "  a  love  of  liberty,  of 
religion,  of  justice  and  virtue,  and  inflamed  with  a  sacred  zeal  and  affection  lor 
your  country."  l  Thus  it  may  be  hoped,  that  through  the  combined  and  strenu- 
ous endeavors  of  true  and  faithful  men  in  all  times,  there  shall  be  gradually 
infused  into  the  mass  of  mankind  loftier  thoughts,  higher  aims,  more  generous 
motives,  whereby  the  human  character  being  elevated  and  refined,  shall  become 
more  worthy,  and  thus  more  capable  of  perfect  freedom.  And  so  this  temple  of 
liberty,  the  foundations  of  which  were  laid  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1 776,  in  blood 
and  peril  by  our  fathers,  shall,  by  the  labors,  councUs,  and  virtues  of  all  the  good 
and  great  of  present  and  future  times,  be  enlarged  and  extended  in  true  propor- 
tions of  moral  architecture,  till  its  pillars  embrace  the  universe,  and  its  dome 
vault  upwards  with  a  more  than  human  skill,  —  with  glorious  archings  of  celes- 
tial wisdom,  resplendent  with  purest  faith,  radiant  with  immortal  truth,  crowned 
with  revealed  hope,  —  to  the  joy  and  rest  of  man  on  the  promise  and  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Eternal. 

1  Milton's  Defensio  pro  Populo  Anglicano,  contra  Claudii  Salmasii  Defensionem 
Regiam. 


37 


434 


APPENDIX. 


(M.    Page  57.) 

THE  MEMBERS  OF  THE  CITY  GOVERNMENT,  FROM   1822  TO   1830,  INCLUSIVK. 

1822. 

MATOE, 

JOHN  PHILLIPS. 


ALDERMEN. 


Samuel  Billings, 
Ephraim  Eliot, 
Jacob  Hall, 
Joseph  Head, 


Joseph  Jenkins, 
Joseph  Lovering, 
Nathaniel  Pope  Eussell, 
Bryant  Parrott  Tilden. 


COMMON    COUNCIL. 

WILLIAM  PEE  SCOTT,  President. 


Ward  1. 

"William  Barry, 
Thaddeus  Page, 
Charles  Wells, 
Simon  Wilkinson. 

Ward  2. 

Martin  Bates, 
Benjamin  Lamson, 
Henry  Orne, 
Joseph  Stodder. 

Ward  3. 

Theodore  Dexter, 
Joshua  Emmons, 
Samuel  Jones. 


Ward  4. 

Joseph  Cooledge, 
Samuel  Perkins, 
Eobert  Gould  Shaw, 
Joel  Thayer. 

Ward  5. 

George  Washington  Coffin, 
Thomas  Kendall, 
Horatio  Gates  Ware, 
Isaac  Winslow. 

Ward  6. 

Samuel  Appleton, 
Thomas  Motley, 
Jesse  Shaw, 
WUliam  Sullivan. 


Ward  7. 

Jonathan  Amory, 
Patrick  Tracy  Jackson, 
Augustus  Peabody, 
Enoch  Silsby. 

Ward  8. 

David  Watts  Bradlee, 
Peter  Chardon  Brooks, 
James  Perkins, 
Benjamin  Eussell, 

Ward  9. 

Jonathan  Davis, 
Hawkes  Lincoln, 
William  Prescott, 
John  WeUes. 

Ward  10. 

Andrew  Drake, 
Daniel  Lewis  Gibbens, 
David  CoUson  Moseley, 
Isaac  Stevens. 

Ward  11. 

Geo.  Watson  Brimmer, 
Asa  BuUard, 
Barzillai  Holmes, 
Winslow  Lewis. 

Ward  12. 

Cyrus  Alger, 
John  French, 
John  Howe,' 
Moses  Williams. 


APPENDIX. 


435 


1823. 

MAYOR, 

JOSIAH  QUINCY. 


ALDERMEN. 


Daniel  Baxter, 
George  Odiorne, 
David  Weld  Child, 
Josepli  Hawley  Dorr, 


Asliur  Benjamin, 
Enoch  I'atterson, 
Caleb  Eddy, 
Stephen  Hooper. 


COMMON    COUNCIL. 


JOHN  WELLES,  President. 


Ward  1. 

Thaddeus  Page, 
Simon  Wilkinson, 
John  Elliot, 
Joseph  "Wheeler. 

Ward  2. 

Martin  Bates, 
Benjamin  Lamson, 
Joseph  Stodder, 
John  Parker  Boyd. 

Ward  3. 

Theodore  Dexter, 
Samuel  Jones, 
John  Richardson  Adan, 
John  Damarisque  Dyer. 

Ward  4. 

Joseph  Cooledge, 
Samuel  Perkins, 
Robert  Gould  Shaw, 
Henry  Famam. 

Ward  5. 

Thomas  Kendall, 
Isaac  Winslow, 
Elias  Haskell, 
John  Sullivan  Perkins. 

Ward  6. 

Joseph  Stacy  Hastings, 
Joel  Prouty, 
John  Stevens, 
William  Wright. 


Ward  7. 

Jonathan  Amory, 
Enoch  Silsby, 
Samuel  Swett, 
Charles  PeUaam  Curtis 

Ward  8. 

Benjamin  Russell, 
James  Savage, 
Eliphalet  Williams, 
Samuel  King  Williams. 

Ward  9. 

Jonathan  Davis, 
Hawkes  Lincoln, 
John  Welles, 
Lewis  Tappan. 

Ward  10. 

Aaron  Bald^\an, 
David  Erancis, 
Francis  Johonnot  Oliver, 
Thomas  Beale  Wales. 

Ward  11. 

Asa  Billiard, 
Charles  Howard, 
Josiali  Stedman, 
Joseph  WiUett. 

Ward  12. 

Samuel  Bradlee, 
Noah  Brooks, 
Francis  Jackson, 
Charles  Sprague. 


436 


APPENDIX. 


1824. 

MATOE, 

JOSIAH  QUINCY. 


ALDEKMEN, 


Daniel  Baxter, 
George  Odiorne, 
David  Weld  Child, 
Joseph  Hawley  Doi-r, 
Ashui-  Benjamin, 


Enoch  Patterson, 

Caleb  Eddy, 

Stephen  Hooper,  (died  September,) 

Cyrus  Alger,  (November.) 


COMMON   COUNCIL. 

FEANCIS  JOHONNOT  OLIVEK,  President. 


Ward  1. 

Wmiam  Barry, 
John  Elliot, 
Joseph  Wheeler, 
Michael  Tombs. 

Ward  2. 

William  Little,  Jr., 
Oliver  Reed, 
Joseph  Stone, 
Thaddeus  Page. 

Ward  3. 

John  Richardson  Adan, 
John  Damarisque  Dyer, 
Edward  Page, 
William  Sprague. 

Ward  4. 

Joseph  Cooledge, 

Robert  Gould  Shaw, 

Jeremiah  Pitch, 

Wm.  Rounsvillc  Pierce  Washbuni. 

Ward  5. 

Elias  Haskell, 
Eliphalet  Porter  Hartshoni, 
George  Washington  Otis, 
Winslow  Wright. 

Ward  6. 

Joseph  Stacy  Hastings. 
Joel  Prouty, 
William  Wright, 
Thomas  Wilev. 


Ward  7. 

Charles  Pelham  Curtis. 
William  Goddai-d, 
Elijah  Morse, 
Isaac  Parker. 

Ward  8. 

Benjamin  Russell, 
Eliphalet  Williams, 
Samuel  King  Williams, 
Benjamin  Willis. 

Ward  9. 

Jonathan  Da-\-is, 
Hawkcs  Lincoln, 
John  Ballard, 
John  Chipman  Gray. 

Ward  10. 

Thomas  Beale  Wales, 
James  Savage, 
Phincas  Upham, 
Prancis  Johonnot  Oliver, 

Ward  11. 

Josiah  Stedman, 
Samuel  Frothingham, 
Giles  Lodge, 
Cliarles  Sprague. 

Ward  12. 

Samuel  Bradlcc, 
Francis  Jackson. 
Isaac  Thom, 
Charles  Bcmis. 


APPENDIX. 


437 


1825. 

MAYOR, 

JOSIAH  QUINCY. 


ALDEBMEH. 


Daniel  Carney, 
John  Bellows, 
Josiah  Marshall, 
John  Damarisque  Dyer, 


Thomas  "Welsh,  Jr., 
George  Blake, 
Henry  Jackson  Oliver, 
John  Bryant, 


COMMON   OOTJNCIL. 

FRANCIS  JOHONNOT   OLIVER,  President. 


Ward  1. 

William  BaiTy, 
John  Elliot, 
Robert  Fennelly, 
Lewis  Lerow. 

Ward  2. 

Oliver  Reed, 
Scammel  Penniman, 
Benjamin  Clark, 
John  Eenno. 

Ward  3. 

John  Richardson  Adan, 
Thomas  WeUs, 
Abraham  Williams  Fuller, 
Amos  Farnsworth. 

Ward  4. 

Joseph  Cooledge, 

Wm.  Rounsville  Pierce  Washburn, 

George  Hallett, 

Theodore  Dexter. 

Ward  5. 

John  SnlKvan  Perkins, 
Ezra  Dyer, 
Charles  Tracy, 
WiUiam  Simonds. 

Ward  6. 

Joseph  Stacy  Hastings, 
Thomas  Wiley, 
Isaac  Waters, 
Samuel  Thaxter. 

37*        . 


Ward  7. 

Charles  Pelham  Curtis, 
William  Goddard, 
Elijah  Morse, 
Isaac  Parker. 

Ward  8. 

Eliphalet  Williams, 
Benjamin  WUlis, 
Jeffrey  Richardson, 
Josiah  Bradlee. 

Ward  9. 

John  Chipman  Gray, 
Franklin  Dexter, 
Jeremiah  Smith  Boies, 
Levi  Meriam. 

Ward  10. 

Francis  Johonnot  Oliver, 
James  Savage, 
Jonathan  Simonds, 
John  Parker  Rice. 

Ward  11. 

Samuel  Frothingham, 
Giles  Lodge, 
George  Morey,  Jr., 
Joshua  Vose. 

Ward  12. 

John  Stevens, 
Adam  Bent, 
Oliver  Fisher, 
Ephraim  Groves  Ware. 


438 


APPENDIX. 


1826. 

MATOK, 

JOSIAH  QTJINCY. 


ALDERMEN. 


Daniel  Carney, 
John  Bellows, 
Josiah  Marshall, 
Thomas  Welsh,  Jr., 


Henry  Jackson  Oliver, 
John  Foster  Loring, 
Francis  Jackson, 
Edw.  Hutchinson  Eobbins. 


COMMON   COUNCIL. 


JOHN  KICHAKDSON  AD  AN,  President. 
Ward  1.  Ward  7. 


"William  Barry, 
Lewis  Lerow, 
Lemuel  P.  Grosvenor, 
Samuel  Aspinwall. 

Ward  2. 

Scammel  Penniman, 
Benjamin  Clark, 
John  Fenno, 
Nathaniel  Faxon. 

Ward  3. 

John  Richardson  Adan, 
William  Sprague, 
Amos  Farnsworth, 
Asa  Adams. 

Ward  4. 

George  HaUett, 
William  Howe, 
John  Wan-en  James, 
Joseph  Eveleth. 

Ward  5. 

Ezra  Dyer, 
Charles  Tracy, 
Jonathan  Thaxter, 
William  Parker. 

Ward  6. 

Joseph  Stacy  Hastings. 
Thomas  Wiley, 
Isaac  Waters, 
Samuel  Thaxter. 


Augustus  Peabody, 
Charles  Pelliam  Cmtis. 
Isaac  Parker, 
Edward  Brooks. 

Ward  8. 

Francis  Bassett, 
Joseph  Helger  Thayer, 
Joseph  Hawley  Dorr, 
John  Baker. 

Ward  9. 

John  Chipman  Gray, 
Jeremiah  Smith  Boies, 
Levi  Meriam, 
Charles  Torrey. 

Ward  10. 

Aaron  Baldwin, 
John  Parker  Rice, 
Solomon  Piper, 
Charles  Barnard. 

Ward  11. 

Giles  Lodge, 
George  Morey,  Jr., 
Joshua  Vose, 
Thomas  Brewer. 

Ward  12. 

John  Stevens, 
Adam  Bent, 
Oliver  Fisher, 
Henry  Hatch. 


APPENDIX. 


439 


1827. 

MAYOK, 

JO  SI  AH  QUINCY. 


ALDEBMEN. 


Cynis  Alger, 
John  Bellows, 
Thomas  Welsh,  Jr., 
John  Foster  Lormg, 


Jeremiah  Smith  Boies, 
Kobert  Fennelly, 
Thomas  Beale  Wales, 
James  Savage. 


COMMON    COUNCIL. 


JOHN  RICHAEDSON  ADAN,  President. 
Ward  1.  Ward  7. 


William  Bany, 
Simon  Wilkinson. 
John  Elliot, 
Samuel  Aspinwall. 

Ward  2. 

Benjamin  Clark, 
S  caramel  Penniman, 
John  Warren  James, 
John  Eloyd  Truman. 

Ward  3. 

John  Richardson  Adan, 
John  Damarisque  Dyer, 
Asa  Adams, 
Thomas  Gould. 

Ward  4. 

Wm.  Rovtnsville  Pierce  Washburn, 
George  Hallett, 
William  Howe, 
Joseph  Eveleth. 

Ward  5. 

Jonathan  Thaxter, 
William  Parker, 
Lewis  Glover  Pray, 
George  Lane. 

Ward  6. 

Isaac  Waters, 
Samuel  Thaxter, 
Jonathan  Loring, 
Joseph  WaiTcn  Lewis. 


Samuel  Dorr, 
Samuel  Dexter  Ward, 
John  Amo  Bacon, 
Thomas  Walley  Phillips. 

Ward  8. 

David  Watts  Bradlee, 
Benjamin  RusscU, 
Eliphalet  Williams, 
Joshua  Sears. 

Ward  9. 

John  Chipman  Gray, 
Levi  Mei-iam, 
Gamaliel  Bradford, 
John  Prescott  Bigelow. 

Ward  10. 

Jonathan  Simonds, 
George  Brinlcy, 
William  Parker, 
Charles  Sprague. 

Ward  11. 

Giles  Lodge, 
George  Morey,  Jr., 
Joshua  Vose, 
Josiah  Vose. 

Ward  12. 

Adam  Bent, 
William  Wright, 
William  Little,  Jr., 
George  Gav. 


440 


APPENDIX. 


1828. 

MATOE, 

JOSIAH  QUINCY. 


John  Foster  Loring, 
Robert  Fennelly, 
James  Savage, 
Thomas  Kendall, 


ALDEKMEN. 


James  Hall, 

Phineas  TJpham, 

John  Pickering, 

Samuel  Turell  Armstrong. 


C0M3I0N   COUNCIL. 


JOHN   RICHARDSON  ADAN,  President. 


Ward  1. 

Samnel  Aspinwall, 
Ninian  Clark  Betton, 
Horace  Fox, 
Eleazer  Pratt. 

Ward  2. 

John  "Warren  James, 

Frederick  Gonld, 

Henry  Fowle,  Jr., 

George  Washington  Johnson. 

Ward  3. 

John  Richardson  Adan, 
John  D.  Dyer,  (res.  April.) 
Thomas  Gould, 
Levi  Roberts  Lincoln, 
James  L.  P.  Orrok,  (from  May.) 

Ward  4. 

Joseph  Eveleth. 
Quincy  Tufts, 
Andrew  Cunningham,  Jr., 
James  Means. 

Ward  5. 

George  Washington  Otis, 
William  Parker, 
Le-wis  Glover  Pray, 
George  Lane. 

Ward  6. 

Isaac  Waters, 
Francis  Johonnot  Oliver, 
Ebenezer  Appleton, 
David  Moody. 


Ward  7. 
John  Arao  Bacon, 
John  Belknap, 

George  W.  Adams,  (from  May.) 
Thomas  Wren  Ward,  (res.  July.) 
Waldo  Flint,  (res.  Fcbmary.) 
Benj.  T.  Pickman,  (from  August.) 

Ward  8. 
Benjamin  Russell, 
Eliphalet  Williams, 
Samuel  lung  Williams, 
Thomas  Lamb. 

Ward  9. 
John  Chipman  Gray, 
John  Prescott  Bigelow, 
Norman  Seaver, 
Daniel  Lewis  Gibbens. 

Ward  10. 
Jonathan  Simonds, 
William  Parker, 

Robert  Treat  Paine,  (from  May.) 
John  Lowell,  Jr., 
Geo.  Bethune,  (res.  April.) 

Ward  11. 

Otis  Everett, 
Otis  Turner, 
Perez  Gill, 
Payson  Pemn. 

Ward  12. 

Alphcus  Cary, 
Walter  Cornell, 
Joseph  Neale  Howe, 
Benjamin  Stevens. 


APPENDIX. 


441 


1829. 

MATOE, 

HAERISON  GRAY  OTIS. 


ALDEKMEN. 


Heniy  Jackson  Oliver, 
John  Foster  Loring, 
Thomas  Kcudall, 
James  Hall, 


Samuel  Tnrell  Armstrong, 
Benjamin  Russell, 
Winslow  Lewis, 
Charles  WeUs, 


COMMON   COTJlSrCIL. 


ELIPHALET   WILLIAMS,  President. 


Ward  1. 

Ninian  Clark  Betton, 
Eleazer  Pratt, 
John  Wells, 
Christopher  Gore. 

Ward  2. 
John  Warren  James, 
Heniy  Sewall  Kent, 
Samuel  Ellis, 

Thomas  Reed,  (died  Eebruaiy.) 
Daniel  BaUard,  (from  March.) 

Ward  3. 
Thomas  Goirld, 
Levi  Roberts  Lincoln, 
Joseph  Bradley, 
Amos  Bradley  Parker. 

Ward  4. 
Quincy  Tufts, 
Andi'ew  Cunningham, 
John  Rajnier, 
Samuel  Davenport  ToiTey. 

Ward  5. 
Jonathan  Thaxter, 
William  Parker, 
George  Lane, 
Joseph  Eveleth. 

Ward  6. 
Isaac  Waters, 
Samuel  Austin,  Jr., 
Jared  Lincoln, 
Samuel  Goodliue. 


Ward  7, 

Geo.  W.  Adams,  (died  May.) 
Benjamin  Toppan  Pickman, 
Thomas  Wetmore, 
Walter  Erost, 
Isaac  Danforth,  (from  May.) 

Ward  8. 
John  Prescott  Bigelow, 
Jacob  Amee, 
Le^^  Brigham, 
Daniel  Lewis  Gibbens. 

Ward  9, 
Eliphalet  Williams, 
Samuel  Bang  Williams, 
Thomas  Minns, 
James  Brackett  Richardson. 

Ward  10. 
Jonathan  Simonds, 
John  Lowell,  Jr., 
Samuel  Leonard  Abbott, 
Charles  Casey  Starbuck. 

Ward  11. 

Otis  Everett, 
Otis  Turner, 
Perez  Gill, 
Payson  Perrin. 

Ward  12. 
Oliver  Eisher, 
Walter  Cornell, 
Aaron  Willard.  Jr.. 
Isaac  Parker  To^nisend. 


442 


APPENDIX. 


1830. 

MAYOR, 

HAEEISON  GEAY  OTIS. 


ALDERMEN, 


Henry  Jackson  Oliver, 
John  Foster  Loring, 
Samuel  Turell  Armstrong, 
Benjamin  Russell, 


Winslow  Lewis, 
Charles  Wells, 
John  Burbeck  McCleary, 
Moses  Williams. 


COMMON    COUNCII-. 

BENJAMIN  TOPPAN  PICiaiAN,  President. 


Ward  1. 

Ninian  Clark  Betton, 
Eleazer  Pratt, 
Christopher  Gore, 
Simon  Wiggin  Eobinson. 

Ward  2. 
John  Warren  James, 
Samuel  Ellis, 
Daniel  Ballard, 
John  B.  WeUs. 

Ward  3. 
Thomas  Gould, 
Levi  Roberts  Lincoln, 
LaiTa  Crane, 
Michael  Lovell. 

Ward  4. 
Quincy  Tufts, 
John  Rayner, 
Samuel  Davenport  Torrey, 
Washington  Parker  Gregg. 

Ward 
Winslow  Wright, 
Joseph  Evcleth, 
Levi  Bojniton  Haskell, 
Charles  Leighton. 

Ward  6. 
Isaac  Waters, 
Samuel  Austin,  Jr., 
Jared  Lincoln, 
Joshua  S caver, 
Benj.  Parker,  (seat  vacated  in  Feb.) 


Ward  7. 

Benjamin  Toppan  Pickman, 
Thomas  Wetmore, 
Isaac  Danforth, 
Elias  Hasket  Derby. 

Ward  8. 

Thomas  Minns, 
James  Brackett  Richardson, 
Joseph  Reynolds  Newell, 
Leach  Han-is. 

Ward  9. 

John  Prescott  Bigelow, 

Jacob  Amee, 

Levi  Brigham, 

Edw.  Goldsborough  Prescott. 

Ward  10. 

John  Parker  Rice, 
John  Lowell,  Jr., 
Samuel  Leonard  Abbott, 
Levi  Bliss. 

Ward  11. 

Otis  Everett, 
Perez  Gill, 
Jabez  Ellis, 
Joseph  Hay. 

Ward  12. 

Henry  Hatch, 
Aaron  Willard,  Jr.. 
Thomas  Melville  Vinson, 
James  Wright. 


INDEX. 


Adams,  John,  his  death,  207.    Eulogy,  208. 

Aldermen,  elected.  42,  58,  121,  167,  197, 
210,  229,  280,  298. 

,  proposal  to  increase  the  num- 
ber of,  110,  178. 

Almshouse,  8,  18,  19,  34,  50,  88.  Sale  of, 
138,  146. 

Anniversary,  Fiftieth,  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  200. 

Assessors,  28,  211,  231,  236,  276,  290. 

Auditor,  City,  165,  256,  394. 

Boston,  City  of,  municipal  goremment 
established,  30,  40. 

,  ,  first  organization  of,  42. 

,  ,  finances  of,  44,  46,  48, 

111,  163,  202,  229,  265,  394,  398,  401. 

-,  population  of,  109,  178. 
-,  average  of  deathsin, 407. 


Boston,  South,  annexation  of,  246. 

, ,  bridge  to,  247. 

Boston,  Town  of,  proceedings  of  the,  2, 13,' 
15,  17,  22,  33,  40. 

finances  of,  17,  29, 40, 46, 


274,  282. 


-,  population  of,  17,  40. 


Bridewell,  9,  37,  103. 
Biilfinch,  Charles,  26,  34. 
Biuial  grounds,  73,  100. 

Centennial  celebration,  305,  308,  309,  318. 

Chm'ches,  independence  of,  340. 

City  Charter,  40,  41,  42,  58,  62,  179,  253, 

277,  290,  376. 
Debt,  46,  112,  121, 166,  202,  210,  229, 

243,  274,  300,  383,  406. 

Expenditures,  163,  256,  265,  274. 

Government,  first  organization  of,  42. 

,  time  of,  changed,  179. 

Ofiicers,  election  of,  41,  44,  253. 

Common    Council,  President  of,  elected, 

44,  58,  280,  305. 
Common,  The  questions  concerning,  114, 

116. 
Constables,  4,  109,  272,  307. 
Cotton,  John,  343. 
Court  Houses,  40,  211,  302,  402. 
Com't  of  Sessions,  abolished,  33. 


Drains,  laws  respecting,  119, 120, 121, 127, 
382. 

Engineer,  Chief,  162,  203,  253,  291. 
Engine   Companies,  proceedings  respect- 
ing, 154,  205,  264. 
Engine  Houses,  191,  192,  253,  264,  306. 

Eanexiil  Hall,  11,  13,  15,  28,  42,  75,  80. 

Question  concerning,  147. 
Faneuil,  Peter,.  11,  201. 
Fire  Department,  proceedings  relative  to, 

155,  159,  181,  193,  203,  230,  253,  263, 

292,  408. 
Fire  Engines,  44,  154,  161,  163,  192,  205, 

253,  264. 
Fire,  petitions  of  sufferers  by,  200,  293. 
Fu-e,  protection  against,  under  the  town 

gOA'crnment,  5,  6,  153. 
Firewards,  28,  44,  60,  153,  155,  205,  390. 
Finances.     See  Boston.  , 
Flats,  east  of  the  Market,  243,  245,  289. 
,  west  of  the  Common,  115. 

General  Coiu-t,  proceedings  of,  1,  2.     See 
Legislature  of  Massachusetts. 

Hall,  City,  211,  308,  309. 
Harbor,  protection  of,  265,  292,  294,  303. 
Health,  Board  of,  29,  60,  64,  66,  71,  147, 
266. 

,  department  of,  54, 72, 148, 229,407. 


High  School  for  boys,  216. 

for  gu-ls,  proceedings   con- 

ceming,  216,  269. 
Hiarhways,  Surveyors  of,     44,  60,  63,  111, 

f94. 
Hospitals,  350,  407. 
House  of  Correction,  9,  37,  52,  102,  256, 

303. 
House   of  Industry,  35,   37,  46,   62,    70, 

72,    80,    88,    105,    108,    121,    138,    256, 

303. 
House  of  Juvenile  Offenders,  53,  106,  256. 

269,  291,  303. 

Islands  in  the  harbor,  protection  of,  116, 
256.  265. 


^te  Due 


444 


APPENDIX. 


Independence,  Declaration  of,  riftieth.  An- 
niversary, 200. 

Institutions,  charitable,  350. 

,  religious,  350,  351. 

Intemperance,  efforts  to  suppress.  109,  242, 
272,  307. 

Jail,  40,  103,  105,  283,  303. 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  his   death,  207.    Eu- 
logy, 208. 
Johnson,  Isaac,  328. 

Lafayette,  General,  19,  149,  192. 

Lands,  city,  54,  113,  274,  301. 

Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  4, 13,29,  31, 
33,  35,  40,  85,  180,  292,  343. 

Licenses,  terms  of,  112,  272.  Theatrical, 
112. 

Liquors,  spirituous,  sale  of,  on  the  Com- 
mon, prevented,  242. 

Malls,  improved,  121,  382. 

Manufactures,  Domestic,  Exhibition  of, 
250,  305. 

Market,  public,  10. 

,  under  FaneuH  Hall,  11, 12,  40,  54, 

74,  85,  121,  124.     Discontinued,  201. 

Market-House,  erected,  1826.  Proceed- 
ings relative  to,  74,  124,  137,  201,  243, 
245,  256,  289,  383,  412.  Comer  Stone 
laid,  415. 

Marshal,  City,  73,  101,  272. 

Mayor,  official  responsibility  of,  8,  122, 
277,  376,  384,  389. 

,  power  to  suppress  riots,  199,  396. 

Municipal  Com-t,  103. 

Nuisances,  removal  of,  64,  70,  266,  408. 

Otis,  Harrison  Gray,  41.  Mayor,  258. 
luaugm-al  Addresses,  280, 298.  Address 
on  the  seventeenth  September,  1830,  309. 

Overseers  of  the  Poor,  19,  28,  31,  40.  Pro- 
ceedings of,  relative  to  the  House  of 
Indiistiy,  47,  88,  138,  140,  167.  How 
elected,  390.    IiTCsponsibility  of,  418. 

Pauperism,  proceedings  relative  to,  34,  88, 

139,  142. 
Pliillips,  John,  Mayor,  41,  58,  89.    Inau- 

gm-al  Address,  373. 
Police,  25,  73,  104,  109,  229,  271. 
Police  Court  established,  33. 
Puritans,  the  character  and  influence  of, 

325,  341. 

Quarantine  Kegulations,  147. 

Quincy,  Josiah,  35,  38,  41.    Mayor,   58. 


Address,  July  4,  1826,  206,  421.  Final 
Address  as  Mayor,  260.  Centennial 
Address,  305,  308.  Inaugural  Address- 
es, 375,  379,  388,  392,  398,  406. 

Eailroads,  284,  295,  305. 
Resei-vou's,  constmcted,  192,  264. 
Plots,  suppression  of,  199. 
Eopewalk  lands,  54,  113,  256,  382,  400. 

School  Committee,  21,  28,  60,  212,  225, 
270,  390. 

School  Houses,  212,  269. 

Schools,  public,  4,  9, 10,  20,  212,  230,  249, 
269,  341,  349,  409. 

Seal,  City,  44. 

Selectmen,  2,  3,  6, 16,  28,  40,  42. 

Sewers.     See  Drains. 

Sha-ttinut,  2,  328. 

Sprague,  Charles,  305,  308.  Centennial 
Ode  by,  358. 

Solicitor,  City,  241. 

State  House,  Old,  307 

Streets,  arrangements  for  cleansing,  65, 
380.  Improvements  in,  133,  194.  Pro- 
spective plan  of,  196,  200,  204,  230,  256, 
266,  273,  304. 

Sm'veyor  of  Boards  and  Lumber,  252. 

Taxes,  197,  231,  276,  393,  410. 

Theatrical  distm'bances,  suppression  of, 
199. 

Tombs  under  churches,  54,  96. 

To-ivn  House,  311. 

To\^^l  Government  established,  1,  2.  Pro- 
posal to  change  it,  16,  23,  27.  Defects 
of,  58,  60. 

Town  lands,  40. 

Town  meetings,  6,  7,  23,  28,  40 

Town  Records,  3,  5,  10,  13,  17. 

Trimouutain,  2,  328. 

Vane,  Henry,  4,  343. 

Vice  and  Crime,  measui'es  to  stippress,  39, 

102,  109,  271,  380. 
Voting  Lists,  questions  concerning,   211, 

234,  290. 

Wards,  meetings  in,  110,  178. 

Watch,  to'mi,  instructions  to,  7. 

Watchmen,  109,  272. 

Water,  measures   for  supplying  the   city 

witli,  176,  303,  394. 
Wintlirop,  John,   1,  3,  4,  327,   328,  333, 

343,  345. 
Williams,  Eliphalet,  42. 
Whaif,  City,  243,  300. 
Wharves,  petition  to  extend,  292. 


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